We can now tell how much oil Nigeria produces – Kachikwu

The Federal Government said for the first time it can now tell the exact quantity of barrels of crude oil produced in the country and when it is produced.

The government also said it was currently working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to track vessels lifting crude oil from the country.

The minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr.  Ibe Kachikwu, disclosed this at the ongoing Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) in Abuja on Tuesday.

Kachikwu said the government through its monitoring of these vessels had observed irregularities in the movement of some of the vessels mandated to lift crude oil from Nigeria.

He said the data tracking capacity would be extended to the downstream sector, to determine the volume of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) imported into the country; the quantity of the products brought in by each vessels; the depots the commodity are stored, up to the points of retail to motorists.

“For the first time, we know what we are producing in this country. As to when it is being produced, barrel to barrel, we can tell. We can see even vessels that are coming into Nigeria and their activities. We have seen some vessels go to a location and pick some cargoes, leave that point, go to another point pick something else and return to the first location, when they should be heading to Port Novo or the United States,” he said.

“What we are trying to do with the EFCC is to gather data and track these vessels, to determine the owners, why did they leave this point, what happened along the way, what is the dead weight of the vessels at the time they were leaving Nigeria and many more.

“So for the first time, we are going to soon be able to tell on a day-by-day basis all the activities that took place in the sector and those of the players. We are even going to extend it to the downstream.”