The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL) has declared a state of emergency on production in the country’s oil and gas industry.
NNPC spokesman, Olufemi Soneye, in a statement on Tuesday said it is in a move towards increasing Nigeria’s crude oil production and growing its reserves.
Soneye added that the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mr. Mele Kyari, disclosed this in a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 23rd edition of the Nigeria Oil & Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG Energy Week) in Abuja.
“We have decided to stop the debate. We have declared war on the challenges affecting our crude oil production. War means war. We have the right tools,” Kyari declared.
“We know what to fight. We know what we have to do at the level of assets. We have engaged our partners. And we will work together to improve the situation.”
According to Kyari, a detailed analysis of assets revealed that Nigeria can conveniently produce two million barrels of crude oil per day without deploying new rigs.
The NNPC boss, however, stated that the major impediment to achieving that remains the inability of players to act in a timely manner.
He said the “war” will help NNPC Ltd. and its partners to speedily clear all identified obstacles to effective and efficient production such as delays in procurement processes, which have become a challenge in the industry.