Nigerian state oil company, NNPC, is committed to reversing declining crude production and will replace partners that fail to fulfill their joint venture commitments on output, Group Chief Executive Mele Kyari said yesterday.
He explained that oil output in Africa’s top exporter has fallen in recent years, hindered by large-scale theft and sabotage, as well as the exit of some major oil companies from land fields to focus on offshore exploration.
Kyari noted that oil production had reached 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in recent months but admitted that maintaining this level had not been possible due to limited access to capital and bureaucratic delays.
He warned that any partner failing to meet their commitments to boost production would be removed from joint contracts.
NNPC holds joint ventures and production-sharing contracts with oil majors that account for about 70% of Nigerian oil production.
Kyari also announced plans to replace aging pipelines and establish a rig-share club with partners to ensure access to drilling equipment, a strategy commonly used by state oil companies globally.
“We keep talking about increasing production, yet we can’t guarantee the availability of rigs in this country. We cannot continue that way,” he said.
