Nigeria is set to ask the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to adjust the country’s quota upward. The most populous African nation is about to make the demand despite its current production capacity challenges.
Speaking in Abuja, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said that Nigeria will request the upward adjustment at the next meeting of the Organisation scheduled for November.
According to him, the nation’s present quota, pegged at about 1.5 million barrels per day, no longer reflects its true production capacity.
He stated that the upcoming OPEC meeting is the perfect opportunity for Nigeria to make a strong case for an upward review to at least 2 million barrels per day.
“The OPEC quota is subject to periodic review, and by November, when we attend the annual meeting, we will certainly be making a case for a higher quota for Nigeria.
And I believe that there’s no better time than now for us to make a strong case for Nigeria’s quota to be reviewed to two million and above.
When I became minister, the OPEC quota for Nigeria was 1.5 million barrels per day because our production then was below that.
Today, we are producing around 1.7 million barrels daily, including condensates, and we have the capacity to produce above two million barrels per day. It is time to review the quota upward.
Condensate is not counted in OPEC production, yet it sells at a higher price. If we do 1.5 million barrels of crude and one million barrels of condensate, we are still within the rules. And because we have capacity, we are also going to show that we have capacity.
Right now, there is something going on to assess our capacity and that assessment is currently going on. And we believe that we will show the world that we have the capacity to produce more than two million barrels,” he said.
He further noted that verifiable production data, domestic crude supply obligations under the PIA, and proof of renewed capacity would help Nigeria’s case at the OPEC meeting.
Lokpobiri concluded by attributing the production rebound to enhanced security and better pipeline integrity across the Niger Delta.
“Before now, companies were scared to produce because crude pumped into pipelines hardly got to the terminal.
Today, if you put in crude, you get 100 per cent at the export point.
Our indigenous producers are doing excellently.
Renaissance has increased production by over 60,000 barrels a day since taking over Shell’s assets, while Seplat has added around 40,000 barrels from the ExxonMobil portfolio.
The PIA brought stability to the regulatory framework, and NUPRC has been doing an excellent job. It has become a reference point for many countries coming to learn how Nigeria regulates its upstream sector.
The forum aims to unify Africa’s voice in global energy policy and advocate equitable investment and energy access.
When I took office, production was around one million barrels a day. Today, it’s between 1.7 and 1.8 million barrels. That’s progress, but we’re not stopping there.
Our cost of production is higher than the global average, but we’re also bringing it down. The cost of production is bound to be high depending on the circumstances. But today, we have taken steps to ensure that the cost of production is made competitive, and the executive orders have been very helpful in ensuring that we take certain steps that will reduce the cost of per-barrel production.
Circumstances here are different. But we definitely will get there. The global average is perhaps $12, but ours is way above that. But that doesn’t mean that we are not taking steps. So, having identified the problem, we are taking steps to ensure that we address that problem.
Africa contributes less than three per cent of global emissions. We cannot industrialise without reliable power. Energy transition means different things to different regions. For us, it means first ensuring energy access before talking about transition.
Right now, our first objective is to use the hydrocarbon resources we have in abundance in Africa, raise the funding we need, and then finance the energy mix. We have abundant potential for solar, hydro, and wind, and we have it all. But those technologies are all manufactured in Europe.
They want you to abandon so that they can continue to. And like I said in Ghana, we can’t borrow to finance our energy requirements.
We have to use the resources we have to raise what we need to finance our energy mix. So, it is the best time for AFRIPERF so they can join others in advocacy for Africa to be given special preference as it relates to this issue of energy transition.
In any event, what they are doing is hypocrisy. They themselves are ramping up production. The US produces over 20 million barrels a day. So why should we stop?” he added.
