…says ‘it’s strategy to increase crude production, grow reserves’
. War means war, we have right tools, we know what to fight, Kyari boasts
Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has announced a state of emergency on oil production in the country.
According to the NNPC, the declaration of a state of emergency is part of the strategy to increase Nigeria’s crude oil production and also grow its reserves.
NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, made this known in his keynote address delivered at the opening of the 23rd edition of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition Week in Abuja, on Tuesday.
Declaring the state of emergency, Kyari said, “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.”
He disclosed that a detailed analysis of assets revealed that Nigeria could conveniently produce two million barrels of crude oil per day without deploying new rigs.
But the major impediment to achieving this is the inability of players to act fast and timely.
Kyari stressed that the “war” would help NNPCL and its partners to speedily clear all identified obstacles to effective and efficient production.
He identified such obstacles as delays in procurement processes, which have become a challenge in the industry.
Regarding the medium- to long-term measures to boost and sustain production, Kyari said NNPC will replace all the old crude oil pipelines built over 40 years ago.
He said the company will also introduce a rig-sharing programme 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.
Kyari appealed to all players in the industry to synergize towards reducing the cost of production and enhancing production to target levels.
The NNPCL boss reiterated 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 economic prosperity of the country.
