The Federal Government has attributed Nigeria’s low crude oil output to underinvestment. The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Bagudu, highlighted this issue during a ministerial briefing in Abuja. He explained that the government has initiated macroeconomic reforms under the renewed hope agenda to tackle the underlying causes of low investment and revenue.
Bagudu stated, “As part of the renewed hope agenda, we embarked on macroeconomic reforms because low investment and low revenues were shrinking our economy. Our economy was too small compared to our needs. This lack of investment affects our crude oil production, which has not met our OPEC quota due to underinvestment in physical infrastructure and security.”
SEE ALSO: Dangote Cement Workers Held Captive: Kidnappers Demand ₦5 Million Ransom
On May 14, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reported that Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production rose to 1.28 million barrels per day (mbpd) in April. However, this is still below the 1.78 million bpd estimate included in President Bola Tinubu’s 2024 budget and the 1.5 million bpd production quota set by OPEC for 2024.
Despite these challenges, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, stated on May 19 that Nigeria’s oil production volume is close to 1.7 million bpd. Kyari noted that Nigeria has the potential to produce two million barrels per day but faces significant hurdles, such as pipeline vandalism and oil theft, which hinder reaching this potential.
