“No more debates” — NNPC declares state of emergency on crude oil production

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has declared a state of emergency on challenges affecting crude oil production in the country.

Group chief executive officer of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, made the declaration on Tuesday while speaking at the opening ceremony of the 23rd edition of the Nigeria Oil and 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,” Kyari said.

“War means war. We have the right tools. 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.”

Kyari said a detailed asset analysis showed Nigeria could easily produce two million barrels of crude oil per day without deploying new rigs, but the primary obstacle is the inability of industry players to act promptly.

Kyari said the war will enable NNPC and its partners to swiftly remove all identified obstacles to efficient production, including delays in procurement processes, which have become a challenge in the industry.

Regarding medium to long-term measures to boost and sustain production, Kyari said NNPC will replace all the old crude oil pipelines built over four decades ago.

He said the corporation will also introduce a rig-sharing programme with its partners to ensure that production rigs stay in the country for between four and five years which is the standard practice in most climes.

The NNPC boss urged all players in the industry to collaborate towards reducing the cost of production and boosting production to target levels.