The Crude Oil Theft and Management Committee has said efforts to increase crude oil production to three million barrels per day in line with the target set by President Bola Tinubu are on course.
The Governor of Imo State, Mr Hope Uzodimma, who chairs the committee, the team is collaborating with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to boost crude oil output.
Over the years, Nigeria has been moving to boost its production to three million barrels per day, but it hasn’t touched the levels with the peak of 2.5 million barrels per day recorded over 20 years ago.
Speaking to newsmen in Abuja after a closed-door meeting with governors of oil-producing states, top officials of the NNPC and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mr Uzodimma noted that oil production figures were already showing signs of improvement.
“The National Economic Council requested an update from the sub-committee on crude oil theft and prevention.
“During the meeting, we observed an encouraging upward trend in crude oil production, which we attribute to the collective efforts of industry management, security agencies and state-level actors.”
The governor explained that Friday’s meeting was convened to receive briefings from the new leadership of NNPC Limited and NUPRC.
“We are satisfied with the presentations and the current work plan of the NNPC.
“The committee plans to engage further with the management to align on strategies that will help Nigeria meet its production target.
“Our goal is to ensure the country produces at least three million barrels of crude oil per day, in line with the target set by President Bola Tinubu,” Mr Uzodimma said, lauding the President for his leadership and recent reforms in the oil and gas sector, which he said were beginning to yield positive results.