05 September 2012, Sweetcrude, ABUJA – THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has reaffirmed the country’s current crude oil production figure at 2.7 million barrels per day.
Nigeria’s oil output peaked at an all time high of 2.7 million barrels per day, mbd, in August.
Reaffirming the figure in Abuja, NNPC Group Managing Director, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, waved off rumours that the country’s current crude oil production figure was exaggerated.
He said Nigeria’s oil sector had benefited from various proactive measures initiated to forestall challenges such as crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism that have repressed its growth.
He said NNPC stood on its claim on the growth of the country’s crude oil production, saying it was made possible by the collective efforts of major stakeholders in the oil sector.
The NNPC group managing director, who reacted to insinuations that the corporation may have inflated the crude oil production figures considering obvious increase in oil theft and pipeline vandalism recently in Nigeria, said: “Of course, we are faced with challenges of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism but these issues have attracted high profile attentions.
“From the Presidency, minister of petroleum resources and the country’s security outfits; we have all put out proactive measures to put paid to this. Such high-level attention that we got is now beginning to yield fruits and we are saying that with this, we need to sustain the efforts.”
Yakubu had in August disclosed that Nigeria recorded a significant milestone in her oil and gas sector with an increase in crude oil production from 2.4 million barrels per day (mbpd) to 2.7 mbpd. He added that such has never been attained by the country.
He had then attributed the increase to the security measures put in place in the Niger Delta region by the Federal Government.
