Nigeria Projects 1.8 Million Barrels Production May 2023

President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has expressed its commitment to meet up with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) crude oil production quota.

Naija News gathered that the production quota of Nigeria is 1.8 million barrels per day, which is the target of the Federal Government by the end of May 2023.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva stated this a day after OPEC agreed to maintain its production cut among member countries to maintain market stability.

Sylva speaking on the effort of the Federal Government to end pipeline vandalism, said FG would continue to improve security along the tracks of the major crude oil pipelines and block every leakage.

According to the minister, the inability of Nigeria to meet the current OPEC quota was not due to lack of production capacity on the part of crude oil producers, “but because a lot of producers decided not to inject into the pipelines as they were losing a lot of their production when they inject into the pipelines.”

Sylva in a statement released through his Senior Adviser Media and Communications, Horatius Egua quoted his saying, “Once we are able to build enough confidence in the security of the pipelines, they (producers) will then be able to inject into the pipelines once again.

“And once that happens, we will be able to meet up with our OPEC quotas. That is where we are going and the early signals are there that we are making very good progress.”

The minister noted that with the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, as well as the planned repair of the Kaduna refinery, and the coming onstream of the Dangote Refinery, Nigeria was sure of guaranteed crude oil production that would ease the incessant fuel crisis faced across the country.

He said, “Between Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna, we have over 410,000 barrels and if you have all that refined in-country, that will be at least half of our consumption.

“And with Dangote refinery, which is expected to come on stream by the first quarter of next year, we are expecting that we will be exiting the importation of petroleum products by the third quarter of next year.

“But I believe that even before the third quarter of next year, we should be able to exit the importation of refined products.”

Speaking on the discovery of crude oil in Kolmani, a border town between Bauchi and Gombe states, Sylva said Nigeria should brace up for more oil finds, adding that only the Niger Delta region had been explored for oil despite potential in other regions of the country.