Group Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, has said Nigeria will be a net exporter of petroleum by December
He made this known on Monday at a meeting of stakeholders of the nation’s economy including the Ministers of Finance, Wale Edun; Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; Minister of State Petroleum, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri; and the Governor of the Central Bank, Olayemi Cardoso, with the Senate Committee on Finance led by Senator Sani Musa ( APC Niger East), at the National Assembly.
Kyari said the projection was based on emerging indicators in the energy and gas sector.
The indicators, according to Kyari, are the Port Harcourt Refinery which will start production early next month, which will be followed by the one in Warri months after, and the Kaduna refinery latest by December 2024.
The group CEO further stated that in a few months, the oil production level for the country will hit 2 million barrels per day as all enablement towards that has already been put in place.
“We’re very optimistic that by December, this country will be a net exporter. That means a combination of production coming from us, and also from Dangote refinery and other smaller producing companies that we know are in line to do this,” he stated.
The CBN governor who ws represented by Deputy Governor (Economic Policy), Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, said the triple challenges of rising inflation, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, and food inflation, would take a downward trend soonest as indicators to that effect are already emerging.
Also speaking, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, said the 2024 budget is already being implemented and that there is an ongoing negotiation with Labour Leaders on Minimum wage to ensure that there are no further disruptions to the economy.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Committee appealed to Nigerians to persevere as the government is working around the clock to stabilise the economy.
