Minister of
State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, yesterday, stated that
Nigeria’s crude oil output had risen to around 1.9 million barrels per day.
Kachikwu also
disclosed that the country would pay the $5.1 billion Joint Venture Cash call
arrears owed International Oil Companies, IOCs, within a five-year time frame.
Due to the activities of vandals and militants in the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s
crude oil output had dropped to as low as around 900,000 barrels per day, a far
cry from the 2.2 million barrels per day benchmark in the 2016 budget.
Speaking
during the inaugural meeting of the National Council for Hydrocarbon in Abuja,
Kachikwu stated that the vandalism of the Forcados pipeline negatively impacted
on the country’s crude oil output, noting that the issue was currently being
addressed.
He said: “In terms of crude oil output, we are still
not where we should be. These days, I am always conscious about giving figures
so that I do not attract attention unnecessarily.
“Obviously, the Forcados
incident did impact us. My guess is that we are moving closer to 1.9 million
barrels per day at this point. We are still managing the issue.”
Commenting on
the five-year repayment period for the Joint Venture Cash Calls arrears,
Kachikwu said the repayment time line was part of the concessions Nigeria got
from the IOCs, while he added that the country was able to secure a discount of
$1.7 billion from the negotiations with the IOCs He further stated that the
National Council on Hydrocarbon, which was approved by President Muhammadu
Buhari would function as an advisory body and would contribute ideas that would
be used in policy formulation in the petroleum industry.
He said: “Everybody is
invited to participate in that; we create ideas so that we use the ideas to
formulate policies. This is the first time it is happening. I think it is a
fantastic thing and it is all part of the whole process of getting everybody
involved, especially people from the oil-producing communities.” In another
development, Kachikwu also inaugurated the newly-constituted Boards of the Petroleum
Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA), Petroleum Equalization Fund
(Management) Board, PEF, and the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI). Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in
Abuja, Kachikwu stated that the new Boards are coming at a time when the global
petroleum industry is witnessing a downturn in fortunes which has also
translated to reduction in revenue levels from petroleum by most producer
nations, adding that the regulatory landscape is also tightening to ensure best
practices and protection of lives and assets.
According to him, the composition of the boards is made up of thoroughly
selected eminent persons who have both the experience and knowledge to guide
the three parastatals into harnessing their potentials and fulfilling the
nation’s expectations even at these challenging times. He said, “For PPPRA, the
expectation is of the Board is to provide the necessary steers and guidance to
the Management on ensuring the maintenance of National Petroleum Products
Sufficiency and ensure the growth of the Petroleum Products Strategic
Reserves “For PEF, the expectation from
the members of the Board is for them to ensure that the Automated Product
Tracking System from Depots to Stations is completed nationwide and every
molecule of petroleum product is tracked to the retail station “For PTI, the expectation from the members
of the Board is for them to superintend the transformation of PTI to world
class oil and gas training institute that run commercially viable courses and
grow the Number of High Value Clients within the Industry and make it a
cynosure institution in the continent.”
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