The State Minister of Oil, Heineken Lokpobiri, has insisted that the country is producing 1.7 million barrels of crude oil daily including condensates.
Lokpobiri made this disclosure during a keynote speech at an energy summit in Abuja.
He said the oil production volume in the country has risen to 1.7 million barrels per day in the last one year, adding that the figures presented by OPEC did not capture condensates.
According to him, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) traditionally provides the total volume of oil production in the country, and the data presented by the commission to them is 1.7 million barrels as opposed to the 1.3 million barrels OPEC recorded.
“As a ministry, one of the things we have decided to focus on is to ramp up production. Today, we are producing about 1.7 million barrels per day inclusive of condensates.
“I don’t want anybody to be confused. OPEC doesn’t calculate condensates which is why the OPEC quota for Nigeria is 1.5 million barrels.
“Our ambition is to ramp up production. It’s only when we ramp up production that midstream and downstream can succeed. When I became Minister one year ago, we were doing barely 1 million barrels per day of crude oil. But today, we are doing 1.7 million barrels. And NUPRC is here. They are the ones who traditionally give us the numbers. They are giving us approximately 1.7 million barrels inclusive of condensates,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lokpobiri emphasised the importance of Nigeria’s continued membership in OPEC, stating that the country has no plans to exit the organisation.
Instead, Nigeria aims to advocate for an increase in its production quota to approximately 2 to 3 million barrels per day.
He noted that he had advised Angola against leaving OPEC prior to its departure.
Lokpobiri added that oil is a global commodity, and being part of an international community is essential for effectively selling products on the global market.
“I’m in regular touch with my counterparts in other parts of the world. I told them that my ambition is to see how Nigeria will be the subject matter in November during the OPEC meeting.
“Last year, we were talking about whether Angola should leave OPEC. They were saying the quota given to them was not enough. Angola wanted maybe a little more than what they were given. But I was among those who told Angola to stay with OPEC. It’s either you’re part of OPEC or OPEC+. You must belong to one block. You can’t sell it in isolation. This is a market that is a global commodity.
“Anyways, Angola in its own wisdom left. Nigeria is not going to leave OPEC. We are committed to staying in OPEC and then arguing that OPEC increases our quota to 2 to 3 million barrels a day,” he said.