Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited Company (NNPC Ltd) has declared a state of emergency on crude oil production in the nation’s oil and gas sector.
This is part of measures to boost the country’s crude oil production and expand its reserves.
Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, announced the move during a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 23rd Nigeria Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG Energy Week) in Abuja on Tuesday.
Mr Kyari said it was time all sorts of debates around crude oil production stopped and declared war on the challenges affecting Nigeria’s crude oil production.
He asserted that the Corporation had all the right tools to declare war because it “knows when to fight, and the way to go about it at the assets level”.
Nigeria could comfortably produce two million barrels of crude oil per day without new rigs, he insisted, and identified the industry’s “sluggish response” to acting promptly as the main barrier.
“This war will enable NNPC Ltd and its partners to swiftly eliminate all identified obstacles to efficient production, including delays in procurement processes,” Mr Kyari stated.
He announced plans to replace all crude oil pipelines that are over four decades old and to introduce a rig-sharing programme with partners, stressing that the programme’s objective is to ensure that production rigs remain in the country for between four and five years, aligning with standard practices elsewhere.
He urged all industry players to collaborate in reducing production costs and achieving target production levels.
NNPC Ltd’s was, he restated, committed to investing in crucial midstream gas infrastructure, such as the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) and Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipelines, to enhance domestic gas production and supply for power generation, industrial development, and economic prosperity.
Regarding Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Mr Kyari noted that NNPC Ltd has aligned with the Presidential CNG initiative, adding that together with partners, NNPC Ltd has established several CNG stations, with 12 of them ready to be commissioned on Thursday in Lagos and Abuja.
RN
