Nigeria’s oil output to hit 1.8m bpd

Nigeria will increase its oil production to 1.8 million barrels per day next year, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Maikanti Baru said yesterday.

The country will also raise condensate production to 0.5 million bpd, he added, according to Reuters.

Nigeria produces 1.6 million bpd of oil and 0.4 million bpd of condensate.

Baru said he expected the NNPC to sign deals with consortiums this month to revamp long-neglected oil refineries.

NNPC is in the final stages of talks with consortiums including top traders, energy majors and oil services companies to revamp its long-neglected oil refineries in an effort to reduce its reliance on imported fuel. Baru said he expected deals to be signed this month.

“We are on it and we’re almost done,” he said.

He added that NNPC could also sign crude-for-product deals with Shell and ExxonMobil, similar to the one signed with BP on Nov. 1, if they showed interest.

NNPC imports about 70 per cent of Nigeria’s fuel needs, mainly gasoline, via swap contracts. It has contracts, known as direct sale direct purchase agreements, with 10 consortiums that include trading houses Vitol, Trafigura, Mercuria and Total.