Victor EzejaInternational Economist and Global Strategist, Derego Williams, has stated that Nigeria’s record of hitting 1.8 million barrels per day of crude oil production in November is like “a drop in the bucket” compared to what the country used to produce in the past.
Mr Williams stated this while reacting to the news of Nigeria’s crude oil production rising to 1.8mbpd in November.
Prime Business Africa had reported that the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), on Thursday announced that together with its joint venture partners, it has been able to ramp up crude oil and gas production to 1.8 mbpd and 7.4 standard cubic feet per day (scfd). The national oil company said it is working towards achieving 2 million barrels per day of crude oil by the end of the year.
NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, attributed it to the efforts of the Production War Room Team that anchored the production recovery process.
Reacting, Mr Williams who appeared on Arise News Prime Time programme on Thursday evening, said Nigeria was producing about 2.7 million barrels per day of crude oil in 2005.
According to him, the country ought to be producing not less than 7.7.mbpd looking at the current population dynamics.
He, however, asserted that relying on crude oil production alone is not enough to raise the revenue required for the development of the country and called for economic diversification.
“On the oil production level that they are currently reporting at 1.8 million barrels a day, that is still, in my view, a drop in the bucket. At the height of Nigeria’s oil production, back in 2005, the country was doing about 2.7 million barrels per day,” Williams stated.
“If you are to interpolate that to the current population dynamics, the country ought to be producing about 7.7 million barrels per day, but that in itself, is not even enough to cater to our problems, because back then, in 2005 the 2.7 million barrels per day and that practically did nothing for us.”
Nigeria’s crude oil production has been encumbered with a couple of challenges over the years, making it unable to meet the production quota given by the Organisation of Petrol Exporting Countries (OPEC). OPEC had set 1.5 million bpd production quota for Nigeria in October 2024. This is a drop from 1.74 million bpd for 2023. This is attributed to oil theft, spills, vandalism of pipelines and other oil facilities by hoodlums, and security threats among others.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe federal government has continued to push for ways to boost output including reviving dormant oilfields, and is introducing fresh measures to address security threats.
As announced on Thursday by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bugudu, Nigeria’s proposed N47.9 trillion budget for 2025 contains an estimate of 2.06 million bpd at $75 per barrel. This means the Federal Government is looking to rake in much of the revenue for the budget from oil production.
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However, the International economist and Global Strategy maintained that sole dependence on crude oil is not an antidote to the country’s economic development challenges.
He pointed out that while focusing on crude oil production may be working for countries like Saudi Arabia, and other countries with huge reserves, Nigeria’s case is different. He advised that the country needs to make adequate investments in infrastructure to drive development.
“Oil is not the panacea for economic development. Not in our own dynamics. Elsewhere, maybe in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, it works, but for us, it’s a different set of dynamics.”
“So, what we need to do now is to look at the alternative, which is to increase investments the country needs to borrow massively to pump into the development of infrastructure.”
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.
