The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has declared a state of emergency on production in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
In a move to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production and grow its reserves, the company would replace all the old crude oil pipelines built over forty years ago.
NNPCL stated that it has initiated crude oil rig sharing projects with its partners to ensure that production rigs stay in the country for between four and five years, which is the standard practice in most countries.
Olufemi O. Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd., made this statement available on Tuesday in Abuja during the Nigeria Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG Energy Week).
Mele Kyari, NNPCL’s GCEO, disclosed this at NOG Energy Week: We have declared war on the challenges affecting our crude oil production.
“We have decided to stop the debate. We have declared war on the challenges affecting our crude oil production. War means war. We have the right tools. We know what to fight for. We know what we have to do at the level of assets. We have engaged our partners. And we will work together to improve the situation,” the GCEO declared.
Kyari said a detailed analysis of assets revealed that Nigeria can conveniently produce two million barrels of crude oil per day without deploying new rigs, but the major impediment to achieving that remains the inability of players to act in a timely manner.
He said the “war” will help NNPC Ltd. and its partners to speedily clear all identified obstacles to effective and efficient production, such as delays in procurement processes, which have become a challenge in the industry.
Kyari called on all industry players to work together to reduce production costs and boost production to target levels.
He expressed the company’s commitment to investing in critical midstream gas infrastructure, such as the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipelines, to boost domestic gas production and supply for power generation, industrial development, and the country’s economic prosperity.
Kyari observed that NNPC Ltd. has since keyed into the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) drive, adding that in conjunction with partners such as NIPCO Gas, NNPC Ltd. has built a number of CNG stations, 12 of which will be commissioned on Thursday in Lagos and Abuja.
NNPC Ltd. is the principal sponsor of the 2024 NOG Energy Week Conference & Exhibition, which has as its theme “showcasing opportunities, driving investment, and meeting energy demand.”
The NOG Energy Week also saw goodwill messages and keynotes presented by the Secretary General of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham Al Ghais; Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), Engr. Mohamed Hamel; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo; Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Ms. Olu Verheijen; as well as the Chairman, Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), Mr. Abdulrazaq Isa.
