The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited’s forecast of reaching daily two million barrels per day of oil production is questioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which has expressed concerns about the ageing pipeline infrastructure and operational inefficiencies as major causes of the drop in oil revenue during the third quarter of 2024.
In its most recent economic report, the apex bank revealed that oil revenue fell by 24.72% to N1.30 trillion from N1.73 trillion in the second quarter of the year.
This number likewise fell 75.39 percent short of the quarterly objective, primarily because of the numerous shutdowns brought on by ageing facilities and pipelines.
But the CBN research cautioned that unless immediate action is done to solve operational and infrastructure issues, Nigeria’s objective of two million barrels per day (bpd) of oil production by the end of 2024 is still in jeopardy.
The report also pointed out that infrastructure deficiencies, theft, and vandalism continued to hinder revenue growth, even though crude oil output increased slightly to 1.33 million barrels per day (mbpd) from 1.27 mbpd in the previous quarter.
Additionally, NNPC stated that it was making every effort to meet the two million bpd goal.
NNPC Ltd’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, stated that the corporation has already increased production to 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), and that it anticipates that the recently established Production Monitoring Command Centre (PMCC) will help it reach its goal of two million bpd.
According to CBN, lower petroleum profit tax and royalty revenues caused oil revenue to drop by 24.72% to N1.30 trillion from Q2 2024 levels. It also fell 75.39 percent short of the quarterly goal because of shutdowns brought on by ageing oil terminals and pipelines.
Nigeria’s ability to achieve its OPEC output quota was hampered by the outdated infrastructure, which also reduced production efficiency.
