Lokpobiri to NUPRC: Increase Nigeria’s crude oil output to 2.5mbpd in short term

Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), says Nigeria can increase oil production to 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in the short term.

Lokpobiri spoke during the launch of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) 1 million bpd initiative on Thursday.

The initiative aims to increase the current oil production capacity of the country by an additional 1 million bpd in 12 to 24 months.

In October, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production dropped to 1.32 million bpd in September 2024, which is below the country’s OPEC quota of 1.5 million bpd.

The initiative is expected to increase the projected output to 2.5 million bpd in two years.

Commenting on the target, the minister said the country can not wait for another two years to add the extra output.

“Today, my charge to NUPRC is that look, we are projecting one million barrels in the next one to two years. It is unacceptable. Nigeria cannot wait another two years for us to add another one million barrels,” he said.

“That is too long. What do we do now that will take us back to where we were during COVID?

“What do we do now so that by the time we come back for your 50th anniversary, we should be doing about three, four million barrels per day?”

The minister demanded that analysts and leaders of industry make commitments towards rapid growth of oil production in the country.

“Ladies and gentlemen, today shouldn’t just be another talk show. It should be a forum where the leadership of the industry will stay committed, and will make the relevant commitments here so that in the short term, we should do 2.5 million bpd, which essentially will be one million additional as we are launching today,” he said.

He encouraged the NUPRC leadership and the NNPC leadership as well as the leadership of the industry, “that we can do another one million barrels within a short time”.

According to the minister, the government has done everything humanly possible to create a conducive environment for the oil industry.

Lokpobiri said all the incentives the oil industry requires have been provided, from onshore investment to deepwater investment.