Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, has said Nigeria has the capacity to produce 1.9 million barrels of crude oil per day (bpd).
Eyesan spoke on Wednesday during a meeting with Zacch Adedeji, chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), in Abuja.
The NUPRC chief said “Nigeria has the potential to produce 1.9 million barrels per day having hit a peak production of 1.86mbpd in May”.
“We are back to production. We are ramping up now, and we want to continue working,” she said.
“We still recognise the constraints. Infrastructure and asset integrity are major constraints, but we will work on these. Even human capacity in the industry, we see that because we want to grow, we must also grow that capacity to meet the demands.”
Eyesan’s comments come as the federal government intensifies efforts to raise crude oil production and boost revenues from the petroleum sector.
She also said the commission is working to create an enabling environment for operators in the oil and gas industry.
The NUPRC chief commended Adedeji for driving reforms that culminated in the enactment of the NRS Act and described the transfer of revenue collection responsibilities under the new framework as seamless.
She added that stronger collaboration between both agencies would support efforts to improve revenue generation from the oil and gas sector.
In his remarks, Adedeji praised the commission for its professionalism, transparency and dynamism.
The NRS chairman pledged continued collaboration with the regulator, particularly on issues relating to the transfer of revenue collection functions.
“I collect revenue. I don’t generate revenue. Wherever revenue is, I work on it and keep an account for you. So, I’m helping you to collect your royalties,” Adedeji said.
He added that the revenue service would continue to support the commission in achieving their shared objective of increasing government revenue in a fair, transparent and sustainable manner.
The meeting ended with both agencies reaffirming their commitment to deepen cooperation on oil and gas revenue administration.
The meeting comes amid ongoing efforts by the federal government to improve revenue mobilisation from the oil and gas sector and strengthen coordination among agencies responsible for regulating the industry and collecting revenues.
Nigeria exceeded the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) quota in May after crude oil output rose to 1.53 million barrels per day (bpd).