Mele Kyari, the group executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, has expressed optimism that Nigeria will become a net exporter of petroleum by December 2024.
This statement was made during a meeting with the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa, on Monday.
Kyari highlighted several key developments that contribute to this optimistic outlook. He mentioned that the Port Harcourt Refinery is set to start production early next month, followed by the Warri Refinery a few months later, and the Kaduna Refinery by December this year.
Kyari also stated that Nigeria’s oil production level is expected to reach 2 million barrels per day in the coming months due to the necessary measures already in place. “Mr. Chairman and members of the Joint Committee, let me just confirm that NNPCL and the oil and gas industry are very critical in bringing a turnaround in our current economic situation, and we understand the importance of this. We are taking every step that is practical for us to achieve this,” he said.
Kyari attributed the increase in oil and gas production to specific actions taken by President Bola Tinubu and the industry’s declaration of war on production activities. These efforts are starting to yield the desired results.
“The combination of these two has now seen us restoring production in our country, and we believe that, as the Honorable Minister has said, we will soon hit the target of 2 million barrels of oil production per day,” Kyari added.
Addressing concerns about refining and domestic production, Kyari confirmed that Nigeria is on track to become a net exporter of petroleum products by the end of the year.
He stated, “Yes, this country, as we have said, will be a net exporter of petroleum products by the end of this year. We’re very optimistic that by December, this country will be a net exporter. That means a combination of production coming from us, and also from Dangote Refinery and other smaller producing companies that we know are in line to do this.”
Kyari assured that the NNPC refineries in Warri and Kaduna will be operational by December, while the Port Harcourt Refinery will commence production in early August. “Specific to NNPC refinery, we have spoken to a number of your committees, and it is impossible to have the Kaduna refinery come into operation before December. It will get to December. Both Warri and Kaduna but that of Port Harcourt will commence production early August this year,” he added. The NNPC’s efforts and the anticipated increase in production capacity aim to strengthen Nigeria’s position in the global oil market and drive economic growth.
