Yemisi Izuora
The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ibe Kachikwu has projected that Nigeria’s crude oil production capacity will hit 3 million barrels per day in 2016.
Kachikwu also said that the sum of $500 million would be required to fixe the country’s refineries.
Kachikwu who said these at a Luncheon organised in his honour by the Petroleum Club in Lagos noted that the refineries model cannot be sustained to achieve the objective desired in production.
He said that he had been inundated with requests for allocation of Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) and other products from the refineries but insisted that the time of allocation of products to people by the NNPC is over
Kachikwu stated that his target is to ensure that Nigeria’s crude oil production capacity hits 3 million barrels per day by the end of 2016, from the current production level of about 2.5 million barrels per day.
He further stated that the preliminary results of seismic studies conducted in Chad Basin showed that there are potentials for oil discovery in the area, adding that he is optimistic that the announcement to that effect may be made by the end of this year.
“People come to my office to ask for allocation of LPFO but I tell them that the period of product allocation is over. That is clearly not my job.
“Nigerians must begin to add value to get results and income. My period, no matter how short, will not be characterised by favouritism.
“I like people to get rich but people should get rich based on ideas they bring to the table and not based on allocation paper given to them by government,” he said.
Kachikwu stated that there would be no space for armchair and brief-case businessmen in the present NNPC.
According to him, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the upstream arm of the NNPC has increased its crude oil production capacity by 20,000 barrels per day since he took over 11 weeks ago as the Group Managing Director of the state-run oil firm.
Kachikwu stated that NPDC currently produces 220,000 barrels per day, which is expected to increase to 240,000 barrels per day by the end of this year.
According to him, his target is that by the end of 2016, NPDC will hit a production capacity of 350,000 barrels per day.
Kachikwu noted that NNPC will cut internal costs by 30 per cent by end of 2016 and also encourage the international oil companies (IOCs) to cut internal cost by 30 per cent, stressing that “2016 is my make or mar year.
He said the the Port Harcourt refinery has been shut down currently, bringing the combined output from 1.9 per cent in the last few weeks to zero output.