The Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said it is deploying strategies to ensure operators raise crude oil production to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) from the current 1.1m bpd.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday to mark the first year anniversary of NUPRC, the commission’s chief executive, Engr Gbenga Komolafe, said key milestones have been recorded.
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NUPRC came into being after the PIA. The commission transitioned from the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to NUPRC and the top management inaugurated on October 22, 2021.
Komolafe said NUPRC faces the core challenge of crude oil theft and declined oil production but that there are strategies to overcome this.
To raise oil production from 1.1m bpd, Komolafe said Nigeria can meet the 1.8m bpd quota assigned by OPEC in the short term.
He said, “By our estimate, the current volume we are losing to oil theft oscillates between 80,000 and 100,000 barrels daily.”
Komolafe said the production dropped with the downtime of the Forcados line, a major crude export line but that with its re-streaming soon by NNPC and partners, about 400,000 barrels could come on stream, raising production capacity to 1.5m bpd near the OPEC quota.
He also said due to the crude oil theft, 1.2m bpd of crude is shut in at oil wells but there is an ongoing engagement with operators to identify which wells could be opened, and at least 50 per cent of them could be re-opened.
“Our projection is that with this, we could have over 2 million bpd of crude oil production which will surpass the OPEC quota,” noted Komolafe.
He also allayed fears that the International Oil Companies (IOCs) are shunning production in Nigeria, stating that, “The assurances we are getting from the IOCs are still heartwarming on getting back to production.”
In the meantime, Komolafe said an audit exercise is ongoing to determine the volume of crude oil theft.
On the commission’s viability, the commission’s head said despite the challenges, NUPRC has tried to meet its budgetary target, noting that in 2021, the commission surpassed its target. So far, it is already meeting the target for 2022 as he assured that NUPRC could surpass its target by the year’s end.
On more regulatory efforts, Komolafe said NUPRC has begun monitoring the financial viability of upstream petroleum companies by ensuring that they all submit their audited account reports.
The commission has also commenced a benchmark for oil production cost for operators according to the location like offshore or deep water to ensure consistency.
