Under Tinubu, oil production increased from 1.1m to 1.7m barrels – Lokpobiri

By our correspondent

The Minister of state for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri has disclosed an increase in oil production from 1.1 million barrels to 1.7 million in less than a year.
The 600 million increase in production was on account of the transformation introduced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Lokpobiri spoke yesterday at the Ministerial Press briefing in Abuja on the achievements of President Tinubu after one year in the saddle.
“When we took office, production was at approximately 1.1 million barrels per day, including condensates. Today, I am proud to report that we have increased our production to approximately 1.7 million barrels per day (inclusive of condensate). This increase is a testament to our relentless efforts to streamline operations and resolve conflicts among stakeholders,” the Minister said.
According to him, the steps taken to increase Crude Oil Production included efforts towards revamping redundant oil assets to active status, continuous engagement with IOCs and Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) members in resolving industry disputes towards increasing production,
and Resolutions of internal Joint venture contracts feud between joint ventures partners on critical productions fields.
Other steps include engaging local communities with critical assets running through them to protect the assets all in a bid to decrease oil theft in the country, and consolidating existing security framework with private security firms and Government security agencies for pipeline surveillance, which led to sharp decline in crude oil theft and thus increased production for export.
He said during this period, “we also experienced the coming on stream of OMLs 13 (Sterling Exploration) and 85 (First E&P), with the respective assets reaching first oil in the development of their licenses.
“These assets are expected to produce an average of 20,000 and 40,000 barrels per day respectively. This achievement is another testament to the commitment of this administration to optimize production from the nation’s oil and gas assets by providing an enabling environment for existing and prospective investors.
On the efforts to attract Investments, he said one of the main objectives has been to create an environment where investment can thrive. For over a decade, the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and inconsistent policies had driven investments away.
“Today, I am pleased to announce that our efforts have rekindled investor confidence in the sector. Notable examples include:
Investments committed to the tune of $5bn and $10bn respectively in deepwater offshore assets; and $1.6bn investment commitment in oil and gas asset acquisition.
“The very high global interest noted in the ongoing bid round of assets coming online, arising from the recent roadshow activities in the US and Europe.
“Eliminating Bureaucratic Bottlenecks: We have been working diligently to eliminate the bureaucracies and bottlenecks that have stifled investment for over a decade. By resolving conflicting issues and fostering a more consistent policy and business friendly environment, we have made significant strides in attracting and sustaining investments in the sector. This also extends to:
Extension of oil prospecting licenses to technically and financially capable indigenous and international companies all geared towards increasing production, and Providing ministerial consent to companies to divest some of their equity in their assets to companies of proven technical and financial capability.”