The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, together with its joint venture partners, has outlined plans to increase Nigeria's oil production by approximately 192,000 barrels per day. This increase is expected to occur between the third quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2024.
During the Nigeria Oil and Gas international conference in Abuja, NNPCL made this announcement on Wednesday. The company stated that the additional crude oil would be extracted from various Oil Mining Licences.
Representing the Executive Vice President, Upstream, of NNPCL, Adokiye Tombomieye, Igandan Olanrewaju, an official of the company, mentioned that crude oil production activities had resumed in previously challenging areas such as OML 29, OML 18, and OML 24. It was further stated that these wells would contribute to an increase in Nigeria's oil revenue in the near future.

According to Olanrewaju, the aim is to reach a production level of approximately 80,000 barrels per day in the mentioned areas, in collaboration with the joint venture partners, by the third quarter of 2023.
The achievement of initial oil production of approximately 25,000 barrels in NEPL (formerly NPDC) at the Itakpe field has been reported, with the expectation of fully monetizing it by the end of the third quarter of 2023. Additionally, the Obodo field in OML 1 is projected to contribute around 20,000 barrels by the end of the fourth quarter of 2023.
Regarding the development of oil fields in OMLs 71 and 72, it is anticipated that they will add approximately 20,000 to 30,000 barrels to the national production, potentially by late Q3, 2023.

Furthermore, there is another field in First E&P OML 85 that is expected to add about 20,000 barrels by the first quarter of 2024. In the deep-water sector, the Apo turnaround maintenance is nearing completion, which is expected to yield approximately 10,000 barrels.

Furthermore, there are plans to connect two injector wells within OML 130, which is expected to contribute an additional 10,000 barrels by the third quarter of 2023. The Bonga wells are also anticipated to deliver an extra 7,000 barrels.
However, Tombomieye emphasized the importance of creating a favorable investment climate to fully realize the potential of these projects. He called for an improvement in security measures, as it poses a significant obstacle to achieving the desired outcomes in the upstream sector.

He stated, "In August 2022, the insecurity surrounding our critical pipeline infrastructure was so severe that our crude oil production dropped to less than one million barrels." To address this issue, NNPC, in collaboration with stakeholders, developed a new security architecture for the entire industry.
As a result, there has been a positive trend in production. In February, the production levels reached as high as 1.69 million barrels of crude oil and condensate, indicating progress in overcoming the security challenges.