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| Nigeria plans to increase its oil production to 2.1 million barrels per day by the end of next year, after oil companies operating in the country pledged to invest $13.5 billion in the short term. (Source: Bloomberg) |
The North Africa Post quoted Olu Verheijen, special advisor on energy to Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, as saying that she has been working with the Nigerian Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and recently held meetings in Lagos and Abuja with representatives of 15 prominent oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, TotalEnergies, Shell, NAOC, and others.
The purpose of the meeting was to secure a commitment to investment in Nigeria's oil and gas sector.
“We are facing a revenue crisis affecting all Nigerians. To urgently address this issue, President Bola Tinubu is actively seeking ways to increase revenue and foreign exchange to stabilize the economy and currency,” in which the oil and gas sector remains crucial despite current production levels being significantly lower than potential.
One of the main objectives of the discussions with the 15 major oil and gas companies was reportedly to advance the President's initiative focused on addressing the national revenue crisis, while also playing a role in stabilizing the Nigerian economy.
According to the Office of the Special Advisor on Energy, these discussions revealed significant investment prospects, with total projected investments of $55.2 billion by 2030, of which $13.5 billion is expected to be invested by these companies within the next 12 months.
Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, but its output is declining due to large-scale crude oil theft, attacks on oil pipelines in the Niger Delta region, and a lack of investment, leading to reduced government revenue and a large fiscal deficit.
Data from the oil regulator shows that Nigeria's oil production reached 1.41 million barrels per day in August, an 8% increase from July.
The implementation of short-term investment projects is expected to pave the way for a production capacity of 2.1 million barrels per day by December 2024, "unless unforeseen challenges arise".
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