The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) Ltd has declared a state of emergency on production in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
The NNPC Ltd has also called on all players in the industry to collaborate towards reducing the cost of oil production and boosting production to target levels.
Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd, Malam Mele Kyari, made this known in Abuja, on Tuesday at the ongoing 23rd edition of the Nigeria Oil & Gas (NOG) Conference and Exhibition holding from June 30 to July 4.
“We have decided to stop the debate. We cannot afford to negotiate further, we have declared war on the challenges affecting our crude oil production.
“Our biggest interest is to produce more oil and gas in spite of oil theft and other challenges.
“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 said.
Kyari said a detailed analysis of assets revealed that Nigeria could conveniently produce two million barrels of crude oil daily without deploying new rigs, but decried the inability of players to act in a timely manner as major impediment.
He said obstacles to effective and efficient production such as delays in procurement processes and old pipeline network were affecting the industry.
He said NNPC Ltd. would replace all the old crude oil pipelines built over four decades ago and introduce a rig sharing programme with its partners to ensure that production rigs stayed in the country.
This, he said, would be a medium to long-term measures aimed at boosting and sustaining production.
He expressed 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.
On Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), Kyari said that NNPC Ltd. had keyed into the Presidential CNG Initiative drive.
He said in conjunction with partners such as NIPCO Gas, NNPC Ltd. had built a number of CNG stations, 12 of which would be commissioned on Thursday in Lagos and Abuja.
The Secretary-General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), Mr Mohamed Hamel, in an address, also advocated for natural gas infrastructure and penetration for energy stability and security.
The opening ceremony of the NOG Energy Week also saw goodwill messages and keynotes presented by the Secretary General of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham Al Ghais; Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), Engr. Mohamed Hamel; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo; Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Ms. Olu Verheijen as well as the Chairman, Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), Mr. Abdulrazaq Isa.
