NNPC Sure To Meet Crude Oil Budget Benchmark

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has disclosed that the nation’s oil industry would achieve the 2.3million barrel per day production volume-target for the 2019 budget, assuring that measures have been put in place to attain the set mark.
The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, who was speaking in a presentation to the Senate Committee on Finance on the 2019 – 2021 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), stated that with improved security in oil bearing communities as a result of sustainable community partnership, the Industry was confident of attaining the production target.
The NNPC GMD, who was represented at the event by Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy of the corporation, Mr. Bala Wunti, informed that though the country had production capacity of over 2.5mbld, the unfortunate security situations of the past in areas of operation made it difficult to achieve desired production targets.
“Thankfully, the current administration under President Muhammadu Buhari is strongly focused on engagement and sustainable community partnership which has resulted in improved security and production. This will further improve and we are thus confident of achieving the 2019 budget production target,” he said.
On the possible impact of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) quota on Nigeria’s production target, the NNPC GMD explained that the production target of 2.3million barrels per day was a combination of liquid hydrocarbon production comprising of crude oil and condensate, noting that the OPEC quota only covers crude oil production.
He further explained that with Nigeria’s condensate production currently oscillating between 400,000 to 600,000 barrels per day, the country was in a good position to attain the overall production benchmark, saying that the corporation was working assiduously with other relevant agencies to ensure the attainment of the 2019 budget assumptions contained in the 2019 – 2021 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).
The GMD stressed that the NNPC’s mandate on the MTEF was on the key thematic indicators of Production Volume, Crude Oil Price and Unit Crude Oil production Cost.