With Forcados pipeline restoration Nigeria targets 1.8mbd oil production

THE Federal Government has expressed hope that the restoration of the Forcados Crude oil pipeline and the reopening of half of shut-in oil streams would allow the country to meet its 1.8 million barrels per day oil production quota soon.

Engr. Gbenga Komolafe,The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, told journalists in Abuja yesterday that despite its production challenges Nigeria still has the capacity to produce about 2mbpd.

Engr. Komolafe explained that with about 37 billion barrels of proven oil reserve, Nigeria’s oil would last for another 60 years, adding that the country’s natural gas reserve of 208 trillion scuff would take another 88 years to exploit.

He pointed out that while crude oil theft has hampered oil production pushing it down to 1.1mbd, the government was doing everything possible to scale up production.

According to him, “For us in the Commission we are very optimistic that the nation has the capacity to meet the national oil production target set by OPEC at 1.8mbd. By our estimate, the current volume loss as a result of crude oil theft oscillates from 80,000 barrels to 100,000 barrels per day.

“One area that has led to depressed oil production is the down time we are having in the Forcados line and remember that that line is critical in our production artery. We have been engaging with the NNPC Limited and we are optimistic that with the re-streaming of the Forcados line, which has a production capacity of 400,000 barrels, we will have about 1.5mbpd. This will take us close to our OPEC quota”.

The NUPRC CCE also explained that the Commission has been working with operators to commence the re-opening of shut-in wells which have a production capacity of 1.2mbd.

He explained the wells were shut following the escalation in the vandalism of crude oil pipelines.

On the implementation of the Oil Host Community Trust Funds, Engr. Komolafe noted that the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 officially made host communities stakeholders in the oil and gas business.

He disclosed that the process for the appointment of trustees for host community funds has begun, adding that very soon the funds would become operations.

On the achievement of the Commission in its first year of existence, he said: “the Commission has achieved fundamental milestones in our mandate. We were focused on laying a solid foundation for our regulatory functions and in pursuing that, we have drafted Environmental Remediation Fund Regulation and the Upstream Environmental Regulation and Upstream Petroleum Safety Regulation, both of which have been subjected to stakeholder review in line with the PIA.

“The Commission also successfully launched the Host Communities Regulations to guide the implementation and operationalisation of the Host Communities Development Trust, as also enshrined in the PIA. The Commission is putting in place modalities to ensure the smooth take-off of the various Trusts in a timely manner.

“In the area of development and production, the Commission has within the past one year achieved, among others, the following: Declaration of the nation’s reserves which stands at Oil and Condensate Reserves: 37.046 MMMB, this indicates an increase of 0.37% compared to 2020 figures. Life index stands at 60 years. Gas Reserves: 208.62 TCF, this indicates an increase of 1.01% compared to 2020 figures. Life index stands at 88 years”.

(Vanguard)