OPEC: Nigeria Boosts Exploration as Oil Demand Rises Above 100mbpd

Chinazor Megbolu

Nigeria is set to boost exploration in the country even as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced its projecting global oil demand rise to 100.98m barrels per day in 2020, an increase of 1.2mbpd when compared to 2019.

OPEC on Friday revealed that oil demand in the United States and Europe, as well as Pacific countries, will rise to 48.08mbpd in 2020, up slightly from 47.99mbpd in 2019.

The organisation also stated that the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and Asian countries including India, demand will rise to 33.79mbpd, up from 33.11mbpd in 2019, that China and some European countries will see combined demand of 19.11mbpd, up from 18.66mbpd in 2019.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) in a joint meeting in Abuja, agreed to collaborate on ways to bolster production activities in the country’s oil and gas industry.

In his remarks during the meeting, the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari said the Industry won’t move forward without local service providers, adding that there was the need to ensure the development of local capacity.

“The Corporation was working in concert with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the National Assembly to facilitate the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill before the end of the second quarter of 2020 in order to provide clarity and certainty to investors with a view to stemming the trend of dwindling Exploration and Production activities in the sector”.

“While work on the PIB is going on, we are engaging with the IOCs to resolve some of the commercial processes to make sure that these businesses continue. That was how we were able to deliver the Train 7 FID. We are working on the Bonga South project and a number of projects that you listed. I know that our partners are ready to do business with us”.

“That way, exploration work will spring back, I am very optimistic about that,” he said.

He urged PETAN members to be ethical in their transactions and pledged to support the Association in its objective of growing local capacity in the oil and gas sector.

In his reaction, the PETAN Chairman, Mr. Bank Anthony Okoroafor pledged the Association’s support to help NNPC meet the target production growth of 3 million barrels per day and 40 billion barrels reserves by 2023.