The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, on Saturday, in Abuja said the production of 3 million barrels of crude oil per day is achievable from the 1.7 million it is presently producing.
Making the declaration at the Stakeholders Engagement Session the NNPCL had with journalists covering the National Assembly, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the company, Olufemi Soneye said the feat is attainable with support from all stakeholders.
He said the political will in that regard, is already provided by President Bola Tinubu with directives to relevant security agencies to stem the ugly tide of oil theft and pipeline vandalism, which according to him, led to the increase in daily oil production from 1.4 million to 1.7 million barrels per day now.
"3 million barrels of oil production per day is achievable in Nigeria if all the stakeholders work in synergy for that purpose from the security agencies, both government and privately owned, to oil companies and host communities.
"With expected synergy from all the relevant stakeholders on war against oil theft and pipeline vandalism, the required enabling environment would be in place for optimal oil production to the volume of 2.5 to 3 million barrels per day," he said.
He pointed out that there was a time when oil production went down to 900,000 barrels per day in the country before the involvement of private security agencies and renewed efforts of the military.
"At that time, we felt Nigeria was in trouble as far as oil theft was concerned but the intensity of war against it has allayed our fears," he said.
However, in a PowerPoint presentation on the menace of crude oil theft and its impact on Nigeria's economy, the Deputy Manager, NNPC Command and Control Centre, Murtala Muhammad, said the crime of oil theft remains a serious concern.
He claimed that over 8, 000 illegal refineries and 5,800 illegal oil pipeline connections were detected and destroyed within the last six months.
He listed Bayelsa, Rivers, Imo, and Abia among others as hot spots for oil theft.
In his paper presentation on "Balancing Reporting and Nation Building: The Role of the National Assembly Press Corps', the resource person, Professor Taiye Obateru, emphasized on fairness and national interest in all stories.
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