Nigeria will make cuts to its crude oil output to comply with OPEC output targets, Mele Kolo Kyari of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) said on Tuesday. Nigeria’s September crude oil and condensate output was 2.1-2.2 million barrels per day (bpd), the director of its state oil company said on Tuesday.
“We will (cut) across the assets. The OPEC quota (is) on crude production only, not on condensate, so it doesn’t affect the condensate,” he told reporters at a conference in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
“Our non-conformity is clearly on the crude, and it’s not significant so when you spread it across all the assets it will not be a shock.”
Kyari added that Nigeria hoped to raise oil production to about 3 million bpd in the next 2 to 3 years. The 14-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed in December with non-OPEC partners including Russia to reduce supply by 1.2 million bpd from the start of this year.
OPEC’s share of the cut is 800,000 bpd, to be delivered by 11 members, with exemptions for Iran, Libya and Venezuela. According to a Reuters survey published on Monday, Nigeria had pumped beyond its quota by 265,000 bpd in September, more than any other OPEC state.
Iraq, Congo, Ecuador and Gabon had also over-produced but by much smaller margins, the survey found. Nigeria is also discussing potential investment opportunities with Saudi Aramco and ADNOC of the United Arab Emirates in Nigeria, and discussing potential gasoline supply with Aramco trading.
The NNPC was exploring the possibility of ADNOC investing in mid-stream pipelines and refineries in Nigeria, Kyari said. “We are talking to (Aramco Trading) … We are looking at all opportunities and they are quite keen to supply gasoline to West Africa”, he added. Reuters
Pix: OPEC headquarters, Vienna
