The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the International Oil Companies have been urged by the Joint Task Force South-South, Operation Delta Safe (OPDS), to extend their output in order fulfil the federal government’s daily objective of 2.2 million barrels.
The Coordinator of the OPDS Joint Media Campaign Centre Major Kayode Owolabi, made the statement on Sunday while providing updates on the Niger Delta’s security and production of crude oil.
According to Owolabi, the action was taken in response to a July 17, 2024, order from General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, to prohibit the theft of crude oil.
According to him, the OPDS Commander, Rear Admiral John Okeke has since implemented several key measures, which had cumulated in the terminal factors on major pipelines Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), Trans Escravos Pipeline (TEP), and Trans Ramos Pipeline (TRP) to attain a 100 per cent flow, with daily crude oil output reaching approximately 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd).
This he said indicated that IOCs are currently operating at full capacity, although he admitted that there have been some incidents of vandalism.
Upon the above premise, Okeke urged both local and international oil companies to ramp up production and fully utilise pipeline capacity.
“If pipelines are already at full capacity, the NNPCL must evaluate the nation’s capability to produce 2.2 million bpd, with long-term efforts focusing on enhancing production capacity.
The development comes following a live nationwide broadcast by President Bola Tinubu in a live broadcast on Sunday, where he said the country’s once-declining oil and gas industry is experiencing a resurgence on the back of the economic reforms he announced in May 2024.
