TheCable

Maikanti Baru, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), says the country now produces 2.2 million barrels of crude oil per day.

Baru, who was represented by Saidu Mohammed, made this known while speaking at the sixth sustainability in the extractive industries conference, organised by the CSR-in-Action in Abuja.

Baru said Nigeria is among the 20 top nations in terms of hydrocarbon reserves adding that the country produces eight billion standard cubic feet of gas per day.

He said the NNPC hopes to sustain the current oil and gas production.

In 2016, Nigeria’s crude oil production dropped as a result of attacks on pipeline facilities, which resulted in the country’s exemption from the oil production cut agreed by members and non-members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to reduce global oil supply glut.

Also speaking at the same event, Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum resources, said the country needs a five-year plan to replace decayed infrastructure in the oil sector.

“So, we have a real major challenge in the oil sector for the next five years; so we need to create a five-year marshal plan to replace decayed infrastructure in the sector,” he said.

“And nowhere is more apparent than like in the refinery sector where we are one of the major OPEC producers and we are still importing bulk of our petroleum products.

“This is because our refinery infrastructure has not been maintained at the same level with other countries such as Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire where 90 per cent of their refineries capacity are working.”