DMEA: TNP, Forcados restarts bring Nigerian oil output up to 1.6mn bpd

Nigeria has pushed crude oil production up to 1.6mn barrels per day (bpd) thanks to the re-opening of the Forcados terminal and the partial resumption of shipments through the Trans-Niger Pipeline (TNP), according to a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Co. Ltd (NNPCL).

Bala Wunti, the head of National Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS), told Arise TV in an interview on December 7 that output levels had risen by 350,000 bpd due to these developments.

The country’s oil production and transport infrastructure is becoming more functional as a result of increased co-operation between regulators, security agencies, oil-producing communities and other stakeholders, he said.

Private security contractors “anchored by the communities” have become an important component of the government’s strategy, and all of the parties involved are working more closely together to reduce crude oil theft, he explained. Community participation has been particularly crucial, Wunti added.