NNPC Declares War Against Oil Theft

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited says it has declared a state of emergency on oil production.

It said this was a move towards increasing Nigeria’s crude oil production and growing its reserves.

Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, disclosed this in a keynote address at the opening of the 23rd edition of the Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition Week in Abuja, on Tuesday.

“We have decided to stop the debate. We have declared war on the challenges affecting our crude oil production. War means war. We have the right tools. We know what to fight. We know what we have to do at the level of assets. We have engaged our partners. And we will work together to improve the situation,” Kyari declared.

According to him, a detailed analysis of assets revealed that Nigeria could conveniently produce two million barrels of crude oil per day without deploying new rigs.

Still, the major impediment to achieving this is the inability of players to act in a timely manner.

He added that the “war” will help NNPCL and its partners to speedily clear all identified obstacles to effective and efficient production, such as delays in procurement processes, which have become a challenge in the industry.