20% of Nigeria’s crude production in 2023 not for export — Kyari
Nigeria has set a target of 20 per cent increase in crude oil production this year and the extra will not be for export, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mele Kyari, has said.
He said, though the nation plans to hit a production target of 1.8 million barrels per day in 2023, but not all will be exported.
The NNPC boss made this revelation while answering questions during a webinar that was reported by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
He also stated that with the continuous economic growth in Africa and the reopening of the Chinese economy, report that global crude oil demand may collapse soon is not realistic.
According to him, Crude and condensate production was 1.519 million bpd at the end of December and the target is 1.8 million bpd by the end of 2023, but “we know it is practical to go to 2.2 million,” Kyari noted.
Some of the new productions would be diverted to two domestic refineries being upgraded that are expected to begin operations later in 2023, he said.
Nigerian crude output alone rose to 1.33 million bpd in December, the highest since April, after the return of key grades Forcados and Brass River, according to the monthly Platts survey by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Nigeria lost around 500,000 bpd of oil production to theft in 2022, according to government estimates. Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Timipre Sylva has said the battle against oil thieves is gradually being won.
He said China’s eventual reopening and slow crude supply growth means the global oil market would be in shortage, Kyari who also serves on Nigeria’s Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) delegation said.
OPEC and its allies, including Russia, opted to slash production quota by two million barrels per day (bpd), from November through the end of 2023, in anticipation of slowing demand and the prospect of recessions in key economies.
The decision was despite the European Union’s plan to impose an embargo on imports of Russian crude from December and refined products from February.
“I do not see how this demand will collapse because countries are coming back. China is recovering from COVID-19 and a number of countries, particularly sub-Saharan African countries, are growing.
“These economies are growing very, very fast against all odds. That means more consumption,” Kyari said.
