Nigeria's Crude Oil Production Hits 2.2 Million Barrels Per Day

The production of crude oil in Nigeria has now reached 2.2 million barrels per day, the  Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru, said yesterday.

Baru’s declaration came as oil prices rose yesterday, supported by strong demand for gasoline, even as rising output from Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, producers posed concerns about a persistent overhang of excess crude.

Baru, who was represented by the corporation’s Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, Mr. Saidu Mohammed at an event in Abuja, said the country’s crude production was building up.

“We are doing about 2.2 million barrels per day today, but, of course, the intention is to build on that, sustain production and grow it up to about three million barrels per day in the next few years.

“We have to grow the reserves. We have had little or zero exploration for the past years, but thank God we are now renewing that. With the calmness in the Niger Delta and some of the efforts in the North-Eastern region, we have now renewed our vigour towards building the reserves.

“So in that way, we have gone back to the Benue Trough and the Chad Basin. Although the Chad Basin is slightly behind, in the sense that we were about to go back when security challenges erupted.

‘’We are just waiting for the final green light for us to go back there.  Again, all these are towards building the reserves, for if you build up the production to about 2.3 or 2.5 million barrels per day, you need the reserves to sustain that volume.

‘’The NPDC has grown production from a mere 15,000 barrels per day to about 210,000 barrels per day as at today.”