The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, says the company is on track to raise Nigeria’s crude oil production to 1.8 million barrels per day before the end of 2025.
Ojulari disclosed this in Lagos on Sunday night after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at his private residence. He briefed the President on the company’s performance, investment drive, and progress toward meeting the administration’s production goals.
He explained that NNPCL had made major strides in oil and gas output, achieving about 1.68 million barrels per day in September, the highest level in five years, and over seven billion cubic feet of gas production daily, also the highest in recent times.
“Mr. President gave us a very clear mandate to grow production to at least two million barrels per day by 2027 and up to three million barrels per day by 2030, while also increasing gas output,” Ojulari said. “With the turnaround maintenance concluded in August and September, we expect output to reach at least 1.8 million barrels per day by year-end, all things being equal.”
Strike Impact and Recovery Efforts
Ojulari spoke on the recent industrial dispute between the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, explaining that the strike caused a significant production loss and affected power generation.
“It was quite unfortunate that the Dangote and PENGASSAN issue led to a strike. Whenever critical staff managing key facilities are unavailable, production takes a hit,” he said. “We lost almost 200,000 barrels per day and about 1,200 megawatts of power generation.”
He praised the Federal Government for resolving the dispute through the intervention of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Dingyadi, and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. According to him, most of the deferred production has been restored.
“Since then, we’ve recovered a large portion of the lost output. A few sites are still stabilizing, but overall, we are returning to the status quo,” he added.
Cooking Gas Prices to Stabilize
On the recent spike in cooking gas prices, Ojulari described the increase as temporary and “relatively artificial,” attributing it to delays caused by the brief strike.
“The price hike came from loading and transport delays during the two-to-three-day strike,” he explained. “Some marketers exploited the situation to raise prices, but now that operations have normalized, prices should return to previous levels.”