By METROWATCH
Nigerian President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Sunday, commended the increase in crude oil production, which has risen to 1.6 million barrels per day (mbpd) in response to recent emergency measures introduced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to address gaps in production volume.
Tinubu, who gave the commendation in a nationwide broadcast in response to the ongoing protests against economic hardship and high living costs, stated that Nigeria’s gas assets are now receiving the attention they deserve after a seeming under utilisation.
While noting that the new development would attract more investors into the country, he said the government has already secured two Foreign Direct Investments and signed off over half a billion dollars since then.
He said: “Our once-declining oil and gas industry is experiencing a resurgence on the back of the reforms I announced in May 2024 to address the gaps in the Petroleum Industry Act. Last month, we increased our oil production to 1.61 million barrels per day, and our gas assets are receiving the attention they deserve.
“Investors are coming back, and we have already seen two Foreign Direct Investments signed of over half a billion dollars since then.
Speaking further, Tinubu spoke of how blessed the nation is with oil and gas resources but lamented the neglect of gas resources to power the economy.
He said, as a result, his government immediately launched Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (CNG) to power our transportation economy and bring costs down.
According to the President, the CNG would save over two trillion Naira on a monthly basis, being used to import PMS and AGO and free up national resources for more investment in healthcare and education.
“Fellow Nigerians, we are a country blessed with both oil and gas resources, but we met a country that had been dependent solely on oil-based petrol, neglecting its gas resources to power the economy. We were also using our hard-earned foreign exchange to pay for, and subsidise its use.
“To address this, we immediately launched our Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (CNG) to power our transportation economy and bring costs down. This will save over two trillion Naira a month, being used to import PMS and AGO and free up our resources for more investment in healthcare and education.
“To this end, we will be distributing a million kits of extremely low or no cost to commercial vehicles that transport people and goods and who currently consume 80% of the imported PMS and AGO.
“We have started the distribution of conversion kits and setting up of conversion centres across the country in conjunction with the private sector. We believe that this CNG initiative will reduce transportation costs by approximately 60 per cent and help to curb inflation, the President stated.
