The production of crude oil which is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy has been boosted amidst the activities of Niger Delta militants.
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Nigeria’s crude oil output increased by about 403,900 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.940 million bpd in December 2016, above November levels of 1.536 million bpd, according to the current figures released by Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) according to the Guardian.
Compared to third quarter 2016, 1.2 million bpd output, the boost in production is attributed to Federal Government’s overtures to militant groups in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, to pave the way for a comprehensive dialogue with a view to resolving all the issues.
Due to the vandals and militants activities Nigeria’s crude oil output dropped to as low as 900,000 bpd in early 2016, a far cry from the 2.2 million barrels benchmarked in the budget.
Despite the December uplift, the country is having a shortfall of 260,000 barrels daily, which will challenge the full execution of the 2017 National Budget, also pegged at 2.2mbpd.
OPEC said in the report released on Wednesday, that crude oil production in December decreased by 2.21 million bpd from the previous month to average 33.08 mbpd.
According to OPEC, which supplies about 40 percent of the world oil, output increased the most in Iraq, Angola and Libya, while production in Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Venezuela showed the largest decline.
Speaking on efforts the country is making to increase oil output, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, in his 2017 projection for the industry hoped that Nigeria would achieve 2.1 million barrels per this month.
Kachikwu noted that the vandalism of the Forcados export pipeline negatively impacted on the country’s oil output, adding that the issue was currently being addressed.