The Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) has asked President Bola Tinubu to declare an emergency for crude oil production in Nigeria.
This request comes as the Dangote Refinery and other local refineries struggle to get enough crude oil.
IPPG is a group of 28 Nigerian oil companies, including Oando, Seplat, and Aiteo. They say the country’s low oil production could hurt the 2024 budget.
Nigeria’s oil production has dropped from over 1.4 million barrels per day in January to about 1.2 million barrels per day in April.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has started working with its partners to solve the oil production issues.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, urged oil companies to invest more in the upstream sector to boost oil output.
At the Nigeria Oil and Gas conference in Abuja, the Chairman of IPPG, Abdulrazaq Isa, said Nigeria needs to act fast.
He suggested that President Tinubu should declare a state of emergency in the oil and gas sector. “We must be seen to do everything possible to unleash the industry,” he said.
Isa pointed out that despite Nigeria having large oil and gas reserves, its daily production is low. He mentioned that the country should produce about 2 million barrels per day to meet local and export demands.
Isa also highlighted the need for urgent measures to improve production. He suggested concluding pending oil company transactions, addressing deepwater development issues, and focusing on domestic crude oil refining.
He emphasized the importance of growing daily production to 2.5 million barrels of oil and 10 billion cubic feet of gas to meet domestic and export needs.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Mele Kyari, said they have declared a state of emergency on oil production.
He mentioned that Nigeria could produce 2 million barrels per day without new rigs, but delays in procurement and other challenges are hindering progress.
Kyari emphasized the need to replace old pipelines and improve collaboration to reduce production costs.
The oil minister, Lokpobiri, also urged IPPG members to increase their investments and produce at least 5,000 barrels daily each to help raise Nigeria’s oil output.
