Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate production has risen to 1.824 million barrels per day, according to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri.
Lokpobiri disclosed the figure on Friday in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, while speaking about developments in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. He said the latest production level represented an increase of more than 80 per cent from the level recorded when the current administration assumed office in 2023.
According to the minister, Nigeria was producing less than one million barrels per day of crude oil and condensate in 2023. He said production had since increased to 1.824 million barrels per day, citing the latest weekly figures from the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission.
Lokpobiri attributed the increase to reforms in the oil industry and renewed investment in exploration and production. He also pointed to the growth in the number of active drilling rigs, saying Nigeria now has more than 70 rigs compared with fewer than 10 previously.
He said the government had also approved major divestments involving international oil companies, including Shell and ExxonMobil, which he said had helped unlock investment in new and existing oil projects.
The minister further said indigenous oil companies now account for about 60 per cent of Nigeria’s crude oil production, compared with a period when international oil companies accounted for roughly 90 per cent.
The government has continued to place increased oil production at the centre of efforts to strengthen government revenues and attract investment into the petroleum sector. Lokpobiri also linked the growth in oil-sector revenues to higher allocations to the three tiers of government through the Federation Account.
However, the production figure includes condensate, which is treated differently from crude oil in some international production measurements. The minister specifically noted that condensate is not included in OPEC’s crude oil production figures.
