tured
….As Oil Production Inches To 2.35 Million Barrels Per Day
Yemisi Izuora
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has painted a forward looking picture of the country’s oil and gas sector, disclosing that its joint venture project with Chevron, attracted an oversubscribed $1.2 billion Foreign Direct Investment.
The corporation also said that the company’s Exploration and Production E and P, joint venture with NNPC attracted 800 million dollars foreign direct investment which was signed up in May.
Similarly, Last week in London, the NNPC, Shell, Agip and Total joint venture attracted over $1 billion foreign direct investment. The Chevron, NNPC Joint venture project is $780 million worth of investments.”
NNPC equally hopes that the four Joint Venture Projects NNPC signed with its JV partners would result into incremental revenue for the country within the less than 10 years of the lifespan of the projects as they have begun to attract the inflow of foreign direct investments in the nation’s oil and gas sector.
The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, who disclosed this at the inauguration of the members of the corporation’s re-constituted anti-corruption committee also said that nation’s current crude oil production had risen to 2.35 million barrels per day.
He said, “In the upstream, we have also been making strides in the stability and security in the Niger-Delta and production is coming back steadily. At one point, we have reached the level of almost 2.35 million barrels per day, including condensates, which accounts for about 400,000 barrels per day.
Mr. Baru said it was good that petroleum products supply in the country was being sustained. He attributed the steady supply to conscious plan by the management, with support from staff and other stakeholders in the industry.
“I want to thank each member of staff and our clients involved in the supplies of petroleum products and other services in the country, for sustaining the supply of petroleum products across the country; the status quo has been restored.
“We are in the period of ease, it is not too long ago in December, January and February, when NNPC was a sole importer of petroleum products in this country with the challenges associated with distribution and the caped price of N145 to a litre of petrol.
“We got some ease when the international price went down and the importers decided to come back to import because they can make some margin; they have raised the importation level to about 30 per.”
He said it was important to keep the stability of the supply of petroleum products ongoing.
The NNPC GMD also said the corporation was committed to exiting the cash call, noting that the federal government had provided the required support.
“As you are aware, we have committed to exiting the cash calls process and government has been very supportive and they have given us all approval and endorsement in that direction, particularly the economic council and the entire three tiers of government have endorsed this project, and we have started the implementation.”
“The JV cash call has components; we have to pay arrears of about six billion dollars that were incurred in 2016 in JV operations.
“We are paying up about one billion dollars 2016 arrears we started in April; we have paid in $400 million and we hope to pay the balance before the anniversary of the first payment.”
According to him, NNPC, on behalf of the government, will ensure that every surplus from the corporation at the end of the year after deducting the cost of operation, will be returned to the national treasury.