The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has said that oil production has risen to 1.6 million barrels per day.
The group chief executive officer of the company, Mr. NNPC, Mr. Mele Kyari stated this at a stakeholders’ conference on ‘Oil theft and losses in Nigeria’ held in Abuja yesterday.
The GCEO who was represented at the event by the chief upstream investment officer, Mr. Bala Wunti, explained that the rectangular security approach, comprising NNPCL and partners, regulators, government security operators and communities, boosted by the adoption of technology, ensured the recovery of production from what it was in July 2022 to 1.67 million barrels per day.
He further stated that the implementation of the detect, deter, destroy and recover (3D Strategy), the establishment of the central command and control centre for effective monitoring and coordination, the launch of the whistle-blowers portal and the crude oil validation portal, as well as deployment of some of the best-in-class surveillance tools and technology have been a game changer in the fight against crude oil theft and vandalism.
Kyari said a key element of the collaboration has been the involvement of private security contractors from the host communities.
He said the security contractors’ in-depth knowledge of the terrain and modus operandi of the criminals led to massive discoveries of illegal connections and interception of vessels ferrying stolen crude oil.
Kyari said with the current sustained efforts, facilities that were shut down have reopened, and injection of crude oil into major trunk lines for evacuation to terminals was being ramped up.
He said the oil and gas industry is poised to reposition itself for a sustainable growth trajectory, as efforts to rid Nigeria of the menace of crude oil theft continue to gain traction.
Kyari also said a lot of work had gone into changing the narrative and bringing all industry stakeholders together to confront a common enemy.
