NNPCL targets two million barrels/day of crude oil in 2024

• However, Akinyelure admitted that meeting such a target would require overhauling Nigeria’s security architecture to address pipeline vandalism and other mechanisms deployed in oil theft
  

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On Monday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited announced its intentions to increase crude oil production to two million barrels per day by 2024.

This surge from the current 1.67 million barrels of daily oil and condensates production aims to align Nigeria with the two million bpd target set by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

“Our commitment is to produce at a rate of 2 million barrels per day, anytime from next year,” Chairperson of the NNPCL Board, Mr Pius Akinyelure, told State House Correspondents after President Bola Tinubu inaugurated the board at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja.

However, Akinyelure admitted that meeting such a target would require overhauling Nigeria’s security architecture to address pipeline vandalism and other mechanisms deployed in oil theft.

“It is not an easy task, but we know we have the challenge of oil stealing, the vandalisation of our pipelines.

“But to do this, we have to overhaul our security architecture so that the incidences of stealing vandalisation of pipelines can be reduced.

“And this will possibly help to build up our cash flow. And we will become a better nation,” he explained.

Nigeria’s oil theft has plagued the country for decades, leading to significant economic losses and environmental degradation.

In 2022, Nigeria lost at least $2bn to oil theft, an inquiry by the Senate revealed in November of that year.

The Senate’s findings revealed that only 66 per cent of the country’s oil production could be “effectively guaranteed”.

It said the other 33 per cent was affected by theft and lost production “due to the third-party easy access on land terrain.”

A month after the Senate’s findings, then-National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.), projected that the Federal Government may lose $23bn in 2023 if crude oil theft festers.

But speaking on Monday, Akinyelure said the board’s goal was, “To become number one in Africa and probably competing with leading oil and gas companies around the world.”