NNPCL Adds 14,000 bpd; Short Of 2m bpd Required To Bail Out Economy

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL says it has commenced the production of 14,000 barrels per day of crude from offshore Akpo West Field.

The spokesman of the state-owned oil company, Olufemi Soneye made this known in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The development, according to him, is in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to the company to increased the nation’s oil production.

At least, Nigeria must produce 2 million barrel a day of crude oil in other to sustain the struggling economy, experts say.

The current production level is far below that figure, according to checks from the NNPCL.

Soneye said:  “In line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to optimise production from the nation’s oil and gas assets, the company has announced the successful commencement of oil production from the Akpo West Field.

“The development of Akpo West which is on Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) 2 (formerly OML 130) leverages the existing Akpo Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility via a subsea tie-back to keep costs low and minimise greenhouse gas emissions.

“The milestone was enabled by the strategic leadership of the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mr. Mele Kyari, and the Upstream Directorate of the NNPC Ltd whose support played no small role in propelling the operators to actualise the short- and mid-term hydrocarbon production goal of the President Tinubu administration.

“Located 135 kilometres offshore, Akpo West Field is one of the discoveries on PML 2 with proximity to the Akpo main which started up in 2009 and produced 124,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2023.

“PML 2 is operated by TotalEnergies with a 24 percent  interest  in partnership with CNOOC (45 percent), Sapetro (15 percent), Prime 130 (16 percent), and the NNPCL  as the concessionaire of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC).”

Wale Edun, the Minister of Communication and Coordinator of the Economy, recently remarked that the only way out of the current economic crisis is to produce more crude oil in other to increase government revenue.