Oil production to jump 22% by year end – Kachikwu

Petroleum minister Ibe Kachikwu has said on Monday that oil production rates are expected to jump by 22% to 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) by year end, adding he hoped a force majeure on all its oil fields would be lifted by December or January.

Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, on a visit to New Delhi, also said Nigeria was likely to sign a cash-raising oil deal with India for $15 billion by the end of this year. India’s oil ministry said that Nigeria, whose economy has been hit hard by low oil prices and militancy, had requested an upfront payment.

“Nigeria has a bit of a cash flow problem right now. Our reserves are not as strong as we want them,” Kachikwu told reporters on Monday. “The impact of that is the value of the naira is coming down. So what we are trying to do is to leverage on the assets we have to receive immediate cash.”

He said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which has agreed to cut world output to rescue prices, has however allowed a production window of 1.8 million bpd to 2.2 million bpd for recession-hit Nigeria.

Kachikwu, who said oil prices would rise from current levels by December, met Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan to discuss expanding energy ties between the two countries.

“We agreed on significant potential for diversifying (India’s) engagement in to E&P (exploration and production), refinery building & marketing in Nigeria,” Pradhan said in a tweet.