Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has stated that Nigeria has the potential to produce up to four million barrels of oil per day, given its vast hydrocarbon reserves.
Adeyemi-Bero made this statement on Thursday during the Heirs Energies Nigeria Petroleum Industry Leadership Discourse in Abuja. He emphasized that members of OPEC believe Nigeria can surpass its current 1.5 million barrels per day (mbpd) quota. According to him, Nigeria only needs to prove its ability to increase its OPEC production quota. He highlighted the achievement of increasing production to 1.7mbpd in January as a positive demonstration of Nigeria’s potential.
“With Nigeria’s reserves and resources, there is no reason for the country to be producing below two million barrels a day. Nigeria should be producing between two and a half to four million barrels a day, given its resource base. I truly believe that we can achieve this, and I know that OPEC members and others globally share this belief, but we must show that we can actually produce at that level. The increase in January is a major demonstration of this capability and sets the foundation for securing higher quotas,” he stated.
Discussing his role as Chairman of the OPEC Board of Governors, Adeyemi-Bero explained that while the OPEC secretariat handles the technical aspects, it is the Board that gives final approval. He described his job as ensuring the Board’s agenda aligns with OPEC’s objectives. “The Board, consisting of all member countries, ensures that key decisions are made. My responsibility is to chair this group and ensure that matters requiring conference approval are well prepared. I cannot do this without engaging with the home front,” he added.
Adeyemi-Bero also outlined his goal to raise Nigeria’s quota to 2.1mbpd. “Our target is to set a production level of 2.1mbpd. As the governor of OPEC, my role is to work with Nigeria’s OPEC structure to ensure that we reach that level. However, it is important that we do not exceed this quota inappropriately. Once we achieve the right quota, my next task is to discuss it with my OPEC colleagues,” he said.
During the panel discussion, moderated by Osayande Igiehon, CEO of Heirs Energies, the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, highlighted how reforms initiated by President Bola Tinubu are positively impacting the oil sector. He noted that bureaucratic delays in contract signings have been eliminated, facilitating the goal of ramping up oil production.
“We’ve implemented key reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership, which has streamlined processes in the industry. There were once delays in signing documents due to bureaucracy, but now, once I receive recommendations from the NUPRC, I sign documents within 24 hours. There’s no need for anyone to personally know me for documents to be signed,” Lokpobiri explained.
Other panelists included Gbenga Komolafe, CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission; Roger Brown, MD of Seplat; and Udobong Ntia, Executive Vice President of Upstream, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
In his opening address, Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Energies, expressed his gratitude to all attendees for honoring the invitation to the event.
