By Ayo Yusuf
The serial failure of Nigeria to meet its daily quota of about 1.8 million barrels per day has necessitated a meeting between the Minister of Niger Delta Development, Hön. Abubakar Momoh, and former leader of the defunct Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, High Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo.
The meeting on Sunday was meant to sustain the collaboration between the government and the people of the region in order to uphold peace in the area, facilitate optimal oil production and minimize oil theft.
According to records, Nigeria lost over N8.7 trillion between January and August because of the country’s inability to meet its quota allocated by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC.
This is coming amid a deeper debt crisis as experts urged the federal government to take urgent steps to boost revenue by taming oil theft.
TheNewDiplomat gathered that the meeting took place yesterday in Oporoza, headquarters of Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State.
The minister also reportedly met with the Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Oboro-Gbaraun II, Aketekpe, Agadagba, as part of his ongoing strategic consultations to address the multifaceted challenges in the oil-rich region.
In the Minister’s entourage were the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, and some other top officials of the Niger Delta ministry.
Hon. Momoh, who conveyed President Tinubu’s message of solidarity to his hosts, discussed strategies to combat crude oil theft and improve infrastructure in the region.
The minister asked for their continued support in upholding peace in the region, facilitating optimal oil production and minimizing oil theft.
Bungled Quota
Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude producer, failed to extract 144 million barrels of crude oil between January and August this year being the quota allocated to the country by OPEC.
The 13-member OPEC group distributes oil production quotas to its members based on market conditions to ensure price and supply stability in the global oil market.
Nigeria’s share of that quota was 1.8 million barrels per day for the better part of this period.
A review of data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the monthly statistics from OPEC showed that while about 1.8 million barrels per day was allocated, amounting to 432 million barrels for the eight-month period, the country only managed to produce 288 million barrels, amounting to N17.5 trillion in earning at an average of $80 per barrel.
Oil prices peaked at $82 per barrel in January, dropped to $70 in March and is currently at $92 per barrel, compelling the use of $80 per barrel average price.
The total production indicates a monthly average of about 1.2 million barrels per day.
Flip-flop Production
For over two years, Nigeria has been unable to meet its OPEC production quota, citing oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta as root causes.
But in the second half of last year, just before production fell to a historic 900,000 barrels per day, the government, in collaboration with local security groups, took steps to curb the menace.
The development led to the significant increase in Nigeria’s production to 1.3million barrels per day in February.
A former Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, had to shift the date Nigeria would meet its OPEC production quota several times in the last two years.
Chief Sylva, before his exit, had pledged that Nigeria was finally on its way to fulfilling its production obligation in May this year. Kyari had, in February, promised that Nigeria intended to hit 2.2 million barrels per day without OPEC restrictions this year.
“We have crossed 1.6 million barrels per day; this is not rocket science. We have a line of sight to recover to the quota level of 1.8 million barrels per day. I know that it is not far away, probably two to three months maximum. But we will be there and that will bring back partners to invest, return the confidence of our investors and ultimately bring back growth.
“For us, we see a trajectory of restoring production, including condensates within the year. We believe we can hit a target of 2.2 million bpd, but our budget target is 1.8 million bpd, but we know that it is practical to do 2.2 million bpd within 2023,” he said shortly before his tenure lapsed.
