Nigeria has heavily bounced back from the spate of destruction of oil facilities by agitating militants.
Ibe Kachikwu
Daily crude oil production in Nigeria swiftly covered the deficit of long term economic sabotage by the Niger Delta Avengers and other non-state actors blowing up pipelines.
Nigeria’s oil production is nearly back to normal following a sharp drop earlier this year due to rebels attacking pipelines, the oil minister said Tuesday.
“The reality is that as of today and this morning, we are at 2.1 million barrels production. That’s substantial,” Minister of State for Petroleum Emmanuel Kachikwu said in the nation’s capital of Abuja.
Nigeria normally produces around 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd), but output dropped to a low of 1.4 bpd this year due to rebels attacks. Addressing the press after a meeting between Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and representatives from the oil-producing Niger delta region, Kachikwu said “a lot of behind the scene engagements” were paying off.
“Part of the expectations by 2017 is to target zero shutdowns as a result of militancy,” Kachikwu said, describing the talks as “fairly good, fairly civilised dialogue”.
The meeting was attended by Edwin Clark, a veteran leader who spoke on behalf of some of the militant groups in the country’s restive southern swamplands, including the Niger Delta Avengers.