By Musbau Babatunde
The Minister of State Petroleum Resources Chief Timipre Sylva has expressed confidence that Nigeria will achieve 2 million barrel per day crude oil production target very soon.
He said the government is doing everything possible to get to meet the desired target with a view to adding value to the country’s economy.
He attributed loss of revenue from crude production to theft, pipeline vandalism and decayed infrastructure.
He said despite the challenges, the Federal Government was determination to end the trend through improved investments and security along the major oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta region.
A statement by Horatius Egua, the
Senior Adviser, Media and Communications to Minister of State Petroleum Resources,said contrary to reports that about 40% of the volumes of crude losses are due to measurement inaccuracies.
He noted that the major sources of crude oil losses have primarily been theft, pipeline vandalism and production deferment as a result of pipeline non-availability.
“It is a known fact that the major losses of crude oil in the country have been through theft and destruction of oil pipelines. Again we also know that some of the oil infrastructure are old and decayed and cannot perform at maximum capacity. And there is also the issue of lack of investments in fossil fuel in the country and the drive towards renewable energy has really hampered new investements in this sector,” he said.
He added that government has put measures in place to restore sanity in the sector adding that contrary to the report, the problem associated with crude oil losses are systemic issues that the government was already handling with a view to finding permanently solutions to.
He urged the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to harmoniously work together to ensure that the constraints and impeding challenges in the optimal crude oil production volume were speedily addressed to boost national revenue.
He said the Federal Government cannot continue to lose revenue through perceived lapses in crude oil production, especially at this very critical period of scarce revenue for the nation emphasizing that this was not the time to dwell on the mistakes of the past or engaged in needless blame games but a time to work to close all existing leakages to enable government get maximum benefits from its crude oil and gas assets.
Expressing satisfaction at the improved security along the major oil pipelines in the region, Sylva emphasized the need for sustained efforts by all concerned to maintain maximum crude oil production.
