Crude Oil Production: NNPC Ltd Declares State of Emergency
*Calls for Collaboration to reduce production cost
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, NNPCL, has declared a state of emergency on crude oil production.
The move, apparently aimed at increasing Nigeria’s crude oil production and growing its reserves, was declared in Abuja, Tuesday, by the Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Mele Kyari, at the opening ceremony of the 23rd edition of the Nigeria Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition, NOG Energy Week.
“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. 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 disclosed that a detailed analysis of assets revealed that Nigeria can conveniently produce two million barrels of crude oil per day without deploying new rigs. He noted however, that the major impediment towards achieving the goal remains the inability of players to act in a timely manner.
According to him the state of emergency will help NNPC Ltd. and its partners to speedily clear all identified obstacles, including delays in procurement, which has become a huge challenge in the way of effective and efficient production.
He added that one of the medium to long-term measures aimed at boosting and sustaining production is to replace all the old crude oil pipelines built over four decades ago and also introduce a rig sharing programme with its partners.
The move, he said, is to ensure that production rigs stay in the country for between four and five years which is the standard practice in most climes. While expressing NNPCL's commitment to investing in critical midstream gas infrastructure, including 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 economic prosperity of the country, Kyari called on all players in the industry to collaborate towards reducing the cost of production and boosting production to target levels.
According to him, the 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.
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