Tinubu Reforms Push Nigeria’s Oil Output Above 1.8m Barrels Daily — Lokpobiri

• Oil production rises by over 80% since Tinubu assumed office, minister says

• Active drilling rigs increase from fewer than 10 to over 70

• Lokpobiri links higher output to divestments, investments and sector reforms

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has said reforms implemented by President Bola Tinubu’s administration have increased Nigeria’s crude oil production by more than 80 per cent.

Lokpobiri made the disclosure in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, during a breakfast meeting with media friends led by Elder Asu Beks. The meeting was themed, “Counting the Gains of the Oil Sector Reforms Under President Bola Tinubu.”

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According to the minister, Nigeria was producing less than one million barrels of crude oil and condensate daily when the administration assumed office in 2023.

He said production had since risen to 1.824 million barrels per day, including condensate, citing the latest weekly report of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

“Condensate is not counted by OPEC. As of the last weekly report from NUPRC, we are producing 1,824,000 barrels per day inclusive of condensate. That is over 80 per cent from where we started in 2023,” Lokpobiri said.

He attributed the increase to the combined efforts of stakeholders in the oil and gas industry under the leadership of President Tinubu.

The minister said Nigeria previously had fewer than 10 active drilling rigs and had experienced no seismic activity for more than two decades.

He disclosed that the number of active drilling rigs had now risen to more than 70, noting that drilling a well costs between $25 million and $30 million onshore and between $80 million and $100 million offshore.

Lokpobiri also said Nigeria, which he claimed recorded virtually no oil and gas investment for more than a decade before the Tinubu administration, now attracts about 60 per cent of oil and gas investments coming into Africa.

He linked part of the development to the Federal Government’s approval of the divestments by Shell to Renaissance and ExxonMobil to Seplat.

According to him, the approvals have unlocked investments in projects including the Bonga North, Bonga South-West and Zabazaba fields.

The minister further said indigenous oil companies now account for about 60 per cent of Nigeria’s crude oil production, compared with a period when international oil companies accounted for about 90 per cent.

Subsidy Removal

On petrol subsidy removal, Lokpobiri described the policy as inevitable, saying the Federal Government had previously spent about N18.4 billion daily on subsidy when the exchange rate was N448 to the dollar.

He said the spending translated to about $15 billion annually, or approximately N21 trillion when calculated at an exchange rate of N1,400 to the dollar.

According to Lokpobiri, subsidy removal had also increased the revenue available for distribution to the three tiers of government through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

He said monthly FAAC allocations had risen from less than N600 billion to more than N2 trillion.

The minister said the increase had enabled 27 states that previously struggled with salary payments to meet their obligations and implement development projects.

Lokpobiri also said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), which he claimed previously did not declare profits or meet cash-call obligations, now declares profits, contributes to the Federation Account and meets its financial obligations.

He noted that Section 205 of the Petroleum Industry Act, signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari, provides for market-based pricing.

The minister added that deregulation had enabled the Dangote Refinery to supply aviation fuel to European markets.

According to him, Nigeria had previously subsidised petrol consumption in parts of West and Central Africa before the policy was removed.

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Atala Oil Field

On the disputed Atala oil field in Bayelsa State, Lokpobiri said the state government had challenged the matter in court but lost at both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.

He said efforts were now being made to find a political solution that would facilitate funding for the development of the field.

Speaking on OML 240, which he said belonged to Bayelsa State, the minister said the oil block was awarded more than two decades ago and had since expired.

He added that a Norwegian company had been brought in to develop the asset.