Oil production: NNPCL can achieve 3mpd oil production
… Company deserves praise for stabilising petrol supply – Niboro
…8,000 illegal refineries, 5,800 illegal oil pipeline detected, destroyed – NNPCL
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is confident that it can increase crude oil production from 1.7 million barrels per day to 3 million, says Chief Corporate Communications Officer Olufemi Soneye.
This is just as former spokesman to President Goodluck Jonathan, Ima Niboro has come out to say that the NNPC Ltd deserved praise for the way it has been able to stabilize petrol supply in the country.
NNPC Ltd has been battling with crude oil theft and pipeline line vandalism for over a decade leading to the country’s inability to meet its OPEC+ quota. The implication is that government revenue is reduced significantly.
Speaking in Abuja on Saturday, at a Stakeholders Engagement Session with National Assembly journalists, Soneye emphasised that achieving this goal requires support from all stakeholders, including security agencies, government, privately-owned oil companies, and host communities.
He said President Bola Tinubu’s directives to security agencies were already yielding positive results, with oil production rising from 1.4 million to 1.7 million barrels per day.
Soneye noted that synergy among stakeholders was crucial in combating oil theft and pipeline vandalism, which would create an enabling environment for optimal oil production of 2.5 to 3 million barrels per day.
He said previously, oil production had plummeted to 900,000 barrels per day before private security agencies and military interventions.
Soneye expressed relief that the intensified efforts against oil theft have alleviated concerns.
Also speaking, Murtala Muhammad, Deputy Manager of the NNPC Command and Control Centre, highlighted that oil theft remains a serious concern.
“Over 8,000 illegal refineries and 5,800 illegal oil pipeline connections were detected and destroyed within six months, primarily in Bayelsa, Rivers, Imo, and Abia.”
A Resource person at the event, Prof. Taiye Obateru, stressed the importance of balanced and fair reporting in nation-building, urging journalists to avoid spreading misinformation that could spark societal crises.
“As journalists, you must shun mis-information, which manifests through fabricated contents, false contents, satire, and parody,” Obateru said.
Stabilising petrol supply
Meanwhile, former spokesperson to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Ima Niboro, has commended the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd for its effort in stabilizing petrol supply in the country despite many obstacles.
In an interview with Thecable news, Niboro noted that in spite of the numerous challenges the company continues to play its role responsively.
“Since it became a company, it’s been run professionally. But they have gone over and beyond in the things that they have had to do for the nation as it’s the energy supplier of the last resort.”
Since May 29 2023, when President Bola Tinubu pronounced subsidy is gone during his inauguration speech, the state owned oil company had borne N600 per litre burden on every petrol that is consumed in the country.
Industry operators put the landing cost of petrol presently at about N1250”.
“You know the Petroleum Industry Act made the NNPC as the energy supplier of the last resort, and in fulfilling this role of guaranteeing energy security for the country they absorbed half of the cost of the petrol that you have in your tank for over one year.
“NNPC absorbed over N600 for over a year until it became a problem, and they had to cry out that look we are going down,” he said.
“If they were going to operate like a pure company, they would bring petrol at N1250 per litre and tell Nigerians they can’t sell below that.
“But because of that dint of patriotism, they said, ‘no, this is a company; we have to declare profit, but we also operate in a country, and we have to prioritize the welfare of the people over profiteering’.
Niboro also urged the owners of Dangote Refinery not to put profit first rather they should sacrifice for the greater good of Nigerians.
According to Niboro, Dangote should bear part of the cost of supplying the product in the short run.
“I also urge our big brother, Dangote, that at this point, it’s a business, but let him not prioritise profit too much. Nigeria has been very kind to him,” he said.
“Let him at this time show pure kindness to Nigerians. If he loses a couple of billions naira along the line, he would make more billions from diesel, petrochemicals, and the over 5000 other products his refinery is designed to produce and sell to Nigerians and the rest of the world.
“A little bit of sacrifice in this matter will not make him any poorer. He must not prioritise profit at this time.
“In his Bloomberg interview, he noted that petrol is cheaper in Nigeria than in Saudi Arabia, which is the largest producer of crude oil in the world.
“He also said that Saudi people look at it from the perspective that this is what God blessed them with; they should at least have some benefits from it, some kind of subsidy from it. This is also the mindset of Nigerians.
“Nigerians have always felt that this is the thing that we have now. It’s like having vegetables cultivated in your backyard; you won’t pay the same amount of money for it as those that don’t have it. That is the mindset.
“But of course we know that it doesn’t work like that in modern economics. It is because of that NNPC was swallowing up more than half of the cost of a litre. Let Dangote approach this petrol issue with the same mindset.
“His name will be etched in gold, and he won’t even be the poorer for it.”
