Victor EzejaThe Nigerian government has expressed optimism that the country will reach and exceed the benchmark for the 2024 crude oil budget of 1.7 million barrels per day despite a slight decrease in oil output in November 2023.
A report released on Tuesday by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission indicated that the nation’s crude oil output fell to 1.25 million barrels per day last month, excluding condensates.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelNigeria produced 1.351 million barrels of crude oil per day (excluding condensates) in October, up slightly from the 1.346 million barrels per day it produced in September of this year and above the 1.181 million barrels per day recorded in August.
However, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), who spoke at a stakeholder’s interactive session on Creating Value and Enabling Investments in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector, organised by Chevron Nigeria Plc, insisted that the nation will reach its oil production target of 1.7 million barrels per day in the 2024 budget.
According to a statement by his media aide, Nneamaka Okafor, Lokpobiri asserted that the country has the capacity to increase crude oil production to 2mbpd.
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“The success of the upstream sector will determine the success of the midstream and the downstream sectors.
“And as a government, we are willing to sustain that engagement with the stakeholders so that in the year 2024 and beyond, we will together 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.”
The minister, who reiterated the resolve of the current administration to ramp up oil production, added that the government was doing all possible to tackle the existing challenges and create a business-friendly environment for stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.
“As a country, we have the capacity to produce more than 2mbpd. We have identified the issues bedeviling the sector and are already working on them. I would 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,” he added.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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