Nigeria Says Oil Output at 1.75 Million Barrels a Day and Rising

LAGOS, Capital Markets in Africa: Nigeria’s oil output has reached 1.75 million barrels a day and will keep rising after government outreach and a cease-fire with militants allowed some production to be restarted.

Mediation with “traditional chiefs and rulers from the region is having positive impact on production,” Minister of State for Petroleum Emmanuel Kachikwu said Monday at a government economic management team meeting with private investors in Abuja. Output should reach 1.8 million barrels a day next month and 2 million by December, when most export terminals resume operations, he said.

Nigeria’s crude production dropped to 1.4 million barrels a day in May, the lowest in 27 years, from increasing attacks on oil infrastructure by militants. The government resumed payments to some groups and made efforts to engage with others who remained active in damaging pipelines and platforms in the oil-rich Niger Delta. Last month, Kachikwu gave a “dismal” outlook for the country’s output, saying Nigeria wouldn’t pump more than 1.5 million barrels a day this year.

This month, Nigerian crude oil exports have been returning from force majeure — a legal clause that allows companies to halt shipments without breaching contracts. Royal Dutch Shell Plc lifted the condition on Bonny Light crude on Sept. 6. Exxon Mobil Corp. is ready to resume shipments at its Qua Iboe terminal, a person with knowledge of the matter said Sept. 14.

Source: Bloomberg Business News