The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has advised the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to increase oil production in order to take part in the $14 trillion investment opportunity in the global oil market in the near future.
According to the Secretary General of OPEC, Haitham Al-Ghais, around $14 trillion in investments will be required by the year 2035 to fulfill global demand for energy, even in the face of increasing pushback against oil and gas across the globe.
Al-Ghais made this disclosure during a visit on Wednesday to the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mr. Mele Kyari, at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.
The statement by the spokesperson for NNPCL, Olufemi O. Soneye, revealed that OPEC agrees with NNPCL’S view of a broad-minded perspective on energy, opposing the perspective being advocated in some quarters that consider certain energy sources as adverse.
“Speaking at the event, al-Ghais stated that OPEC was completely aligned with NNPC Ltd.’s vision as captured in its payoff line: ‘Energy for Today, Energy for Tomorrow’ because of its inclusive view of energy as opposed to the view being pushed in some quarters that some sources of energy were bad.
“He disclosed that in spite of the pushback on oil and gas, the world would require about $14trn investments from now till 2035 to be able to meet global demand, and urged NNPC Ltd. To do everything to tap into that opportunity to raise its production to continue to be a reliable source of energy to the world.”
Furthermore, the Secretary General of OPEC noted that the oil bloc is striving to ensure market stability, adding that only through a stable market climate can Nigeria attract investment.
“We will continue to ensure that the market is stable. The global market has to be stable in order for Nigeria to be able to attract investors. If there’s volatility, if there’s no stability in the market, it will only create havoc for everybody, whether it’s a producer or consumer country. So, we will continue to do that in OPEC. We count on Nigeria’s support,” he said.
On his part, Kyari said NNPC Ltd. was working very hard to recover lost production and provide the right fiscal environment to attract investments.