NNPCL Eyes 1.8m Barrels Daily Output — Ojulari

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Bashir Ojulari, has said the company is on track with its plans to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production to 1.8 million barrels per day before the end of the year.

Ojulari stated this in an interview with State House correspondents on Sunday night after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja, where he briefed the President on the company’s performance, investment drive, and progress toward achieving the administration’s production targets.

He said the NNPCL had made significant progress in oil and gas output, recording about 1.68 million barrels per day in September — the highest in five years — and over seven billion cubic feet of gas production daily, also the highest in recent times.

“Mr President gave us a very clear mandate to grow production to at least two million barrels per day by 2027 and up to three million barrels per day by 2030, while also increasing gas output.

“With the turnaround maintenance we concluded in August and September, we expect output to reach at least 1.8 million barrels per day by year-end, all things being equal,” he said.

Speaking on the recent industrial dispute between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Ojulari said the strike led to the deferment of over 200,000 barrels of daily production and affected about 1,200 megawatts of power generation.

He, however, commended the Federal Government for resolving the crisis through the intervention of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyad, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, noting that most of the lost production had since been restored.

On the recent increase in cooking gas prices, Ojulari described it as temporary and “relatively artificial,” attributing it to distribution delays caused by the strike.

“With that short disruption, loading and movement were delayed by two to three days, and as you know, some people took advantage of the situation. Now that things are back to normal, prices should return to previous levels soon,” he assured.