NPDC targets 250,000 daily crude oil production in 2017

The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) is planning to ramp-up crude oil production level to 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) after the completion of on-going re-kitting project and repairs of vandalised facilities.

This is contained in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) operations report for October 2016 released by the national oil company recently.

Oil and gas infrastructure belonging to the company has come under incessant attacks by Niger Delta militants in recent times the latest being an attack on a delivery line operated by the company at Otu-Jeremi, in Delta State but which the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate (NDGJM) attributed to bush burning activities.

Currently, NPDC’s cumulative crude oil production figures from all fields amounted to 23,257,334 barrels which translated to an average daily production of 63,545 barrels between August 2015 – September 2016 amounting to a 3.33% of national oil production.

“NPDC production continued to be hampered by the incessant pipeline vandalism in the Niger-Delta. NPDC is projected to ramp-up production level to 250,000bp/d after the completion of the on-going NPDC re-kitting project and repairs of vandalized facilities,” stated the report.

According to NNPC operations report for October, production from NPDC wholly operated assets amounted to 9,579,156 barrels (or 41.19% of the total production) with Okono Okpoho (OML 119) alone producing 85.73% of the NPDC wholly owned operated Assets or 35.31% of the total NPDC total production.

Also on the NPDC operated JV assets, in which NPDC own 55% controlling interest, crude oil production amounted to 7,593,619 barrel (or 32.65% of the NPDC total production). On the non-operated assets, production level stood at 6,084,559 barrels or 26.16% of the company production.

Maikanti Baru, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), during a recent visit to the Oba of Benin, promised to improve the reserves and production capacity of the NPDC, the corporation’s exploration and production subsidiary.

“We need your support to end pipeline vandalism as we are losing huge sums of money to repair the pipelines destroyed by militant groups,” Baru said.

The NNPC chief executive also appealed to Oba Ewuare II to help in educating the people of oil and gas producing communities to create enabling environment that would in the short term provide economic benefits to the people.

ISAAC ANYAOGU