Minister of state for Petroleum Resources, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri has blamed the low crude oil production in the first quarter of the year on issues with the Trans-Niger pipeline and maintenance activities by some oil companies.
Nigeria’s crude oil production for March dropped to 1.23 million barrels per day according to OPEC’s monthly oil market report. The figure makes it the third consecutive month the country’s average oil production will fall below the budget benchmark of 1.78 million bpd.
In a statement, Lokpobiri, however, said the issues had been resolved and the country would soon go back to producing up to 1.7 million barrels of oil daily.
He noted that the federal government is currently working on policies geared towards maximising the use of all available wells across the country in a bid to generate revenue to meet budget expenses and foreign exchange to stabilise the FX market.
“In response to recent concerns about a shortfall in our oil production during the first quarter of this year, I want to assure everyone that we’re taking decisive measures to address the situation. The reported shortfall was mainly due to issues on the Trans Niger Pipeline and maintenance activities by some oil companies.
“I’m pleased to announce that we’ve resolved these issues, and production is expected to return to previous levels very soon. Our oil production, including condensate, which was at approximately 1.7 million barrels per day, will soon be restored,” the minister stated.
