Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Mr Heineken Lokpobiri, has said that the challenge of insecurity in the Niger Delta was responsible for the underperformance of the petroleum sector.
The Minister, who said this in a meeting with the Abuja Chapter of the Energy Correspondent Association Friday in Abuja, added that it was also affecting Nigeria’s oil production output.
While noting that the issue was making it difficult for the country to meet its OPEC production quota, Lokpobiri said the government was working to address the drawback.
He was hopeful that by the end of 2023, the country would increase its oil production to about 2 million barrels per day.
Due to massive crude oil theft and pipeline vandalisation, Nigeria’s oil production presently hovers between 1.3-1.4 million barrels per day.
“My sole agenda is to increase production. Once we increase production we will get more revenue for the country. You know Nigeria is still more dependent on oil.
“Though the non-oil sector is also supporting the economy, a substantial part of our forex comes from oil.
“The reason why we are underperforming is because of insecurity and we are gradually tackling those problems.
“So, my ambition is to see how I can lead the sector to increase production so that we can get more revenue to deal with the fund and strategic rationale projects in the country.
“I get the reports from relevant authorities. Today, we are doing about 1.4 million barrels of crude. So, we are steadily increasing but our target is to see how we can get to two million barrels,” he said.
Lokpobiri urged the industry players to join hands together to find a permanent solution to the issue.
He said the federal government was discussing with International Oil Companies and local producers to find a lasting solution to the insecurity challenge.
He said the engagement was already yielding positive results.
“We have identified where the problem is, and where we are getting the shortfall and we are already engaging them within the next few weeks, we will be able to give you how far we have gone in that direction.
In an earlier remark, President of the association, Mr Victor Nnodim, assured the minister of the association’s readiness to partner with him as he sought to fulfill his agenda of ramping up crude oil production and delivering a better petroleum industry for the country.
“We will support you to achieve your mandate,” he said.
