Nigeria to cut Crude Oil output to conform to OPEC pact — Kyari

Mele Kolo Kyari, The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) said on Tuesday that Nigeria will have to cut it crude oil output to conform to OPEC pact.

He said that the September crude oil and condensate output was 2.1-2.2 million barrels per day (bpd). “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.”

The Group Managing Director also 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 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.

“We are talking to (Aramco Trading) … We are looking at all opportunities and they are quite keen to supply gasoline to West Africa”, Kyari added.