The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, says Nigeria will meet and surpass the 2024 crude oil production budget benchmark of 1.7 million barrels per day.
Lokpobiri said this at a stakeholder’s interactive session on Creating Value and Enabling Investments in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector organised by Chevron Nigeria Plc.
In a statement on Tuesday by his Special Adviser, Media and Communication, Nneamaka Okafor, the minister said the country had the capacity to increase crude oil production to two million bpd.
Expressing his commitment to fostering collaboration with stakeholders to enhance the country’s oil and gas sector amidst the ambitious target for 2024, the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the minister as saying the Federal Government would sustain stakeholders’ engagement.
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He stated, “The success of the upstream sector will determine the success of the midstream and the downstream. And as a government, we are willing to sustain that engagement with the stakeholders so that in 2024 and beyond, we will ensure that we produce not just the 1.7 million bpd that we need for our budget but ensure that we produce what is needed to meet the local demand.”
He said the current administration started with about one million barrels per day and steadily increased it to 1.4 million barrels per day.
He expressed the determination to continue this upward trajectory, highlighting the government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for stakeholders to thrive.
He noted, “As a new government that is business-friendly, with a clear mandate to ramp up production, we are willing to ensure that our fiscal regime is competitive globally. My appeal is that this old marriage; let us manage it, sustain it and improve on it. Whatever your concerns may be, let us put them on the table to disagree to agree.”
He reassured stakeholders of the government’s diligent effort to address challenges facing the sector and provide the best playing field for both International Oil Companies and others to make the necessary investments.
He added, “As a country, we have the capacity to produce more than two million barrels per day. We have identified the issues bedeviling the sector and are already working on them. I will replicate this programme with all the IOCs and independents so that we can make the sector work for all of us and Nigerians at large, and I know that 2024 will be a much better year.”
Lokpobiri also highlighted ongoing efforts to rehabilitate refineries and ensure the functionality of modular refineries to enhance the country’s refining capacity, meet local and regional demands, and thrive internationally.
He urged stakeholders to join hands in building a robust oil and gas sector that would contribute significantly to the economic growth and development of Nigeria.
The Federal Government, in the Appropriation Bill, gave an average crude oil production benchmark of 1.78 million barrels per day, and a crude oil price benchmark of $77.96.
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