Nigeria increases oil production and drilling activity in response to reforms that attract investment
Nigeria's daily crude oil production has increased from between 1.7 and 1.83 millions barrels, and the number active drilling rigs have increased from 31 in January to fifty by July. This is due to the reforms implemented under President Bola Tinubu to open up the petroleum sector to investment.
The figures were announced by Senator Heineken Lopobiri (Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Oil) during his keynote speech at the Africa Energy Week, Cape Town. He was speaking on behalf of President.
He said that the "Project One Million Barrels", launched in October 2020, is driving the recovery in the upstream industry.
Lokpobiri declared Nigeria open for business, citing the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) as a reform that created a transparent environment and predictable for investors.
He said that the structural, legal, financial and regulatory transformations we are bringing about in Nigeria make it different.
The Minister said that recent asset divestments from international oil companies triggered more than $5.5 billion of final investment decisions. This added around 200,000 barrels a day to the national output.
He said, "These aren't just assets; they are transfers in confidence, capability and ownership." (Writing and editing by Mark Potter, Chijioke Ahuocha)
(source: Reuters)
