The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, has said Nigeria should be producing up to four million barrels of oil per day considering its hydrocarbon reserves.
Adeyemi-Bero stated this on Thursday at the Heirs Energies’ Nigeria Petroleum Industry Leadership Discourse in Abuja.
The energy stakeholder disclosed that those in OPEC believe Nigeria can do more than its current 1.5mbpd quota. According to him, the country only needs to demonstrate capacity to raise its OPEC quota.
He said raising oil production to 1.7mbpd in January was a good demonstration.
“I think the important thing we should understand is that with Nigeria’s reserves and resources, it doesn’t have any business being below two million barrels a day. Nigeria should be doing two and a half, three, or four million barrels a day with its resource base. And I believe we can do it. And I do believe that even those in OPEC and around the world believe that, but we have to demonstrate that we can actually produce that.
“What happened in January is a major demonstration. The country demonstrated that it can deliver above 1.5mbpd. I think that’s the beginning of giving confidence that we can get more quotas,” he stated.
Speaking about his role as the Chairman of the Board of Governors, he stated that the secretariat of OPEC “does all the magic they do, but they can’t approve them. They need the board.”
He added, “The board is made up of all member countries who are members of OPEC, and my job is to chair that group and to make sure that the agenda for that group fits the important things for OPEC. And ultimately, I have to also make sure that those things that have to go to the conference are well done, but I can’t do that without talking to the home front.”
In his new role, Adeyemi-Bero maintained that he must work on how to raise Nigeria’s quota to 2.1mbpd.
“We are setting a production level of 2.1mbpd. The job I have as the governor of OPEC, working with the structure of OPEC in Nigeria, is, how do we make sure that our quota is at that level? Because we should not be producing above that quota in the wrong way. But, once you have to get that quota, I think the next job is to talk to my colleagues,” he stated.
On the panel session moderated by the Chief Executive Officer of Heirs Energies, Osayande Igiehon, the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, said the reforms carried out by President Bola Tinubu are boosting the oil sector.
Lokpobiri maintained that there is no more delay in bureaucracy in signing contracts, stating this is aiding the plan to ramp up oil production.
“We’ve carried out some reforms in the system. President Bola Tinubu has provided strategic leadership in all of the industry. We had the technical issue of bureaucracy before now, you don’t need to know the minister or someone before your documents are signed.
“You don’t need to know me before the documents are signed. Once I get the recommendation from the NUPRC, statutorily, no document stays on my table for more than 24 hours. I sign it and then go to the next level. I guess some of you who are here can bear witness,” Lokpobiri said.
Others on the panel are the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, the MD of Seplat, Roger Brown; and the Executive Vice President, of Upstream, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Udobong Ntia.
While declaring the event open, the Chairman of Heirs Energies, Tony Elumelu, appreciated all attendees for honouring the invitation.
