Suspected militants on Monday vandalised the Trans-Niger pipeline in Ogoniland in the Niger Delta region, reducing the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s crude oil production by 150,000 barrels per day.

According to the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, the country has not been able to sustain the recent gains recorded in crude oil production as a result of the rupturing of pipelines in the region.

When asked if the corporation had been able to sustain the 2.2 million bpd crude production that it announced last week, Baru told journalists in Abuja, “Unfortunately, we have not been able to sustain it because we have challenges.

“As I am talking to you, this morning (Monday), the Trans-Niger pipeline has been breached in Ogoniland, and that is 150,000 barrels of oil that have been knocked off. That has been fairly an issue with that area. We hope we can continue our dialogue and this will return to what it should be.”

The NNPC boss told stakeholders in Abuja last week that the country’s crude production was 2.2 million barrels per day.

Baru, who spoke through the corporation’s Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, Mr. Saidu Mohammed, had announced that the country’s crude production was building up.

“We are doing about 2.2 million bpd today, but of course, the intention is to build on that, sustain production and grow it up to three million barrels per day in the next few years,” the GMD had said.

Commenting on the ongoing African Petroleum Producers Organisation extraordinary session in Abuja, Baru stated that Nigeria gave birth to the body.

He said, “In the first instance, Nigeria is the one that gave birth to the African Petroleum Producers Association, which as part of reorganisation, is changing its name to African Petroleum Producers Organisation, and that is giving some form of permanency in the organisation.

“Nigeria continues to be dominant in it. There is a great drive in Nigeria to reposition the whole industry. We are looking beyond the immediate and transforming ourselves. We have had it earlier where we are producing, refining and satisfying ourselves.

“However, there are certain issues surrounding the development of globalisation, whereby government is going out of doing commercial business and that will be the next phase in bringing back the glory. There is a huge market in Africa and we are going to take advantage of that.”

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