Page 9 - AfrOil Week 41 2021

AfrOil PERFORMANCE AfrOil

Sylva says PIA could push Nigerian

crude oil production up to 4mn bpd

NIGERIA THE Nigerian government has said that imple- Sustainable Development Goal 7,” he added.
menting the newly enacted Petroleum Industry Sylva was speaking shortly after This Day
Act (PIA) will boost the country’s oil production reported that OPEC was not likely to grant Nige-
capacity by about 317% to 4mn barrels per day ria’s request for permission to increase its oil pro-
(bpd). This would represent a more than three- duction ceiling. Since the West African state has
fold rise on current output levels, which have not produced the full amounts allowed under its
been averaging about 1.2mn bpd. quota allocation over the last few months, it does
Minister for State for Petroleum Resources not meet the criteria for receiving a higher cap,
Chief Timipre Sylva mentioned the higher fig- a source inside the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna
ure on October 7, during a keynote speech at the told the newspaper.
2021 Seplat Energy Summit in Abuja. He also Nigerian production came in at 90,000 bpd
said he expected the PIA to help Nigeria achieve below the upper limit of 1.43mn bpd set by
its goal of increasing oil reserves from 37bn bar- OPEC for August 2021. This marked a month-
rels to 40bn barrels. on-month decline of nearly 6% on the figure of
Additionally, Sylva said that the legislation, 1.52mn bpd recorded in June, This Day said. ™
which was signed earlier this year, would assist
Nigeria in the development of its natural and
associated gas reserves, which top 600 trillion
cubic feet (16.99 trillion cubic metres). The
country will continue to develop its hydrocar-
bon resources while pushing for the use of gas
as a transition fuel that can help reduce carbon
emissions, he declared.
“First is the focus on gas. For us, this is at the
heart of the energy transition and represents
the first step in the journey to renewables, away
from oil,” he said. Nigerian hydrocarbons “will
be crucial in supplying world markets with a
broad portfolio of energy options, as well as sup-
porting the global endeavour to alleviate energy Sylva says the passage of the PIA will support higher
poverty, as envisioned in the United Nations’ production levels (Image: Twitter/@HETimipreSylva)

Angolan oil production reportedly

down nearly 30% in six years

ANGOLA ANGOLAN crude oil production has declined come online within the next few years – includ-
almost 30% in just six years and is set to keep ing Lifua A, B, and C; CLOV Phase 2; and Dalia
rising, according to GlobalData, while the coun- Phase 3 – will have the capacity to bring an addi-
try’s natural gas sales are at a record high. tional 89,000 bpd to Angola, they will only be
According to the company’s figures, oil out- able to temper the decline of the country’s ageing
put went from 1.7mn barrels per day (bpd) in fields for a short period,” he commented.
2015 to just shy of 1.2mn bpd in 2021 and should Ward noted concerns that European majors,
drop to about 1.1mn by 2025, even as expansion which currently account for over a third of
projects come on line. Angola’s output, might continue to revise their
Angola has been unable to draw the same positions based on emerging emissions goals.
level of investment as it did in the early 2010s, But he also said that BP (UK) and Eni (Italy)
GlobalData oil and gas analyst Conor Ward said. were discussing co-operation plans that might
“While the multiple expansion projects due to support higher production levels. ™

Week 41 13•October•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9