Nigeria, Africa’s largest crude oil producer, is expected to add 500,000 barrels per day to its crude oil output once Shell Plc-operated Forcados oil terminal and the Trans Niger Pipeline resume operations, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari told Bloomberg.
The Forcados oil terminal which produces about 258,000 barrels of crude oil daily was shut down in July after a leak was discovered by Shell Plc and repair works have since been ongoing on the terminal while the Trans Niger Pipeline which produces about 180,000 barrels of crude oil daily ceased operations due to crude oil theft and vandalism six months ago.
The two crude oil lines that produces a combined 438,000 barrels per day are expected to resume operations soon, according to the Federal Government. However, their combined production capacity is below the 500,000 stated by Kyari in his interview.
In recent times, Nigeria has witnessed a consistent decline in crude production and this is a result of oil theft and ongoing repair works on major oil pipelines in the country.
The underproduction of crude has forced the NNPC to delay payments to some local gasoline suppliers for three months.
According to kyari, he is confident about a positive turnaround in Nigeria’s crude production when activities begin on the Forcados oil terminals and the Trans Niger Pipeline which would allow the company clear the deferred payments.
He said, “mainly by restarting activities on the Shell Plc operated Forcados oil terminal and Trans-Niger pipeline, we will meet all the deliveries and still have surplus crude production for cash.”
Let it be recalled that Investors King had previously reported on Nigeria losing one million barrels of crude daily, which has resulted in the country losing her crown as the biggest crude producer in Africa to Angola.
Last week, NNPC discovered 395 illegal refineries in the Niger Delta region.
NNPC CEO said that criminal enterprise of such magnitude has been crippling the oil revenue of the country.
Meanwhile, days after the discovery of the illegal refineries, Tompolo, revealed that Nigerians operate as many as 58 illegal crude oil tapping sites in Bayelsa and Delta States in the Niger Delta region.