Indigenous oil companies have recorded significant increases in their crude oil production, with their total output rising by 214 per cent in one month, the latest report from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has indicated.
The data obtained by our correspondent on Friday showed that the total oil production from the indigenous independent firms stood at 7.487 million barrels in June this year, up from 2.388 million barrels in May.
Many of the local firms were hit by the militant attacks on oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta last year as they posted steep decline in production until June this year when the Forcados export terminal came back on stream.
The companies, including Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc and Neconde Energy Limited, suffered severely from the shutdown of the Trans Forcados Pipeline, their main export route, for more than a year.
Total oil production from the local firms including marginal fields’ operators fell to 46.01 million barrels last year from 80.17 million barrels in 2015, bringing their share of national production down to 6.4 per cent from 10.3 per cent.
Production by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, a subsidiary of the NNPC in charge of exploration and production, declined by 52.9 per cent last year to 17.02 million barrels.
The company’s contribution to national production stood at 2.53 per cent last year, down from 4.65 per cent in 2015, the data from the corporation revealed.
But the company’s output increased to 4.48 million barrels in June from 1.05 million barrels in May.
“The NPDC production continued to improve as a result of success recorded in the repairs of vandalised pipeline in the Niger Delta and resumption of crude oil lifting activities at Forcados Terminal. The NPDC is projected to ramp up production level to 250,000bpd in the near future,” the NNPC said in its latest monthly report.
Seplat saw its production jump from 43,870 barrels in May to 684,581 barrels in June while Neconde’s output increased from 6,347 barrels to 423,992 barrels in June.
The production from Shoreline Natural Resources Limited rose from 115,376 barrels to 444,240 barrels in June, while that of the ND Western increased from 85,140 barrels to 149,408 barrels in June.
Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited produced 137,834 barrels in June, up from 19,689 barrels in May.
Prior to the shutdown of the Forcados Terminal in February 2016 after the Trans Forcados Pipeline was attacked by militants, the indigenous firms had been hard hit by the persistent low oil prices as their revenues tumbled.
The Forcados shutdown, which lasted for more than a year, piled more pressure on the firms as it impaired their ability to earn revenue and repay debts owed to banks and others.
The Head of Energy Research, Ecobank Capital, Mr. Dolapo Oni, said, “The return of the Forcados Terminal in the Niger Delta, which was disrupted by militant attacks in 2016, has boosted Nigeria’s output to 2.1 million bpd in 2017 (including field condensate and natural gas liquids).”
Source: The Punch
December 21, 2024
