It is possible to increase crude oil production from the current level of 1.7 million barrels per day to three million, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, or NNPCL.

The NNPC claims that President Bola Tinubu has already demonstrated political will in this area by giving orders to pertinent security agencies to stop the heinous wave of oil theft and pipeline vandalism that has caused daily oil production to rise from 1.4 million to 1.7 million barrels.

The Chief Corporate Communications Officer (CCCO) of the oil giant, Mr. Olufemi Soneye, stated that the achievement is possible with the help of all stakeholders during his remarks on Saturday in Abuja during the Stakeholders Engagement Session that NNPCL had with journalists.

“Three million barrels of oil production per day can be achieved in Nigeria if all the stakeholders work together towards that goal,” he stated. This includes oil firms, host communities, government and private security agencies.

“Optimal oil production to the volume of 2.5 to 3 million barrels per day would be in place with expected synergy from all relevant stakeholders on the war against oil theft and pipeline vandalism.”

Prior to the engagement of private security organisations and the resumption of military efforts, Soneye had earlier bemoaned that the country’s oil production had dropped to 900,000 barrels per day.

At the time, we thought Nigeria was in trouble with oil theft, but the strength of the campaign against it has allayed our anxieties, the speaker said.

According to Murtala Muhammad, Deputy Manager of the NNPC Command and Control Centre, oil theft is still a major worry in a powerpoint presentation on the threat of crude oil theft and its effects on Nigeria’s economy.

Over 8,000 illicit refineries and 5,800 illicit oil pipeline connections, he claimed, had been found and demolished in the previous six months.

He mentioned several places as crime hotspots, including Rivers, Bayelsa, Imo, and Abia.