2024 Budget: Lokpobiri Insists Nigeria Will Meet 1.7m bpd Oil Production Target

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has said that Nigeria will meet and surpass the 2024 crude oil  budget benchmark of 1.7 million barrels per day.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ interactive session on creating value and enabling investments in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, organised by Chevron Nigeria, Lokpobiri also noted that the country has the capacity to increase crude oil production to 2 million bpd.

A statement in Abuja by the Special Adviser to the minister on Media and Communication, Nneamaka Okafor, stated that at the event, Lokpobiri restated his commitment to fostering collaboration with stakeholders to enhance the country’s oil and gas sector and his ambitious target for next year.

“The success of the upstream sector will determine the success of the midstream and the downstream and as a government, we are willing to sustain that engagement with the stakeholders.

“This is so that in the year 2024 and beyond, we will together ensure that we produce not just the 1.7 million bpd that we need for our budget, but ensure that we produce what is needed to meet the local demand,” he said.

The minister outlined the trajectory of sector growth since the current administration took office, starting at about 1 million barrels per day and steadily increasing to 1.4 million barrels per day.

He expressed his ambition to continue the upward trajectory, highlighting the government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for stakeholders to thrive.

“As a new government that is business-friendly, with a clear mandate to ramp up production, we are willing to ensure that our fiscal regime is competitive globally.

“My appeal is that this old marriage, let us manage it, sustain it and improve on it. Whatever your concerns may be, let us put them on the table to disagree to agree,” Lokpobiri added.

He reassured stakeholders that the government was working diligently to address the challenges facing the sector and is committed to providing a fair playing field for both International Oil Companies (IOCs) and independents to make the necessary investments.

“As a country, we have the capacity to produce more than 2 million barrels per day. We have identified the issues bede villing the sector and we are already working on them.

“ I would replicate this programme with all the IOCs and independents so that we can make the sector work for all of us and Nigerians at large, and I know that 2024 will be a much better year,” he stressed .

The minister also highlighted ongoing efforts to rehabilitate refineries and ensure the functionality of modular refineries to enhance the country’s refining capacity, meet local and regional demands and thrive internationally.

He invited all stakeholders to join hands in building a robust oil and gas sector that contributes significantly to the economic growth and development of Nigeria.