Africa’s top oil producer, Nigeria, needs annual investments of $25 billion to reach and keep its output at around 2 million barrels per day bpd, Nigerian oil industry executive Austin Avuru said this week. “We need to invest $25 billion annually to stabilize production at 2 million barrels per day,” said Avuru, who is executive chairman of AA Holdings.
member Nigeria aims to ramp up its oil production in the coming months and years. Oil theft and pipeline vandalism have long plagued Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas industry, driving majors out of the country and often resulting in force majeure at the key crude oil export terminals.
alliance. In early May, Nigeria launched a new oil and gas licensing round, inviting bids for as many as 12 onshore and offshore blocks and promising transparency in the bidding process. International majors have shrunk their exposure to Nigeria’s energy sector in recent years, with transparency in the licensing rounds one of the reasons for Big Oil to divest from their Nigerian assets, on top of oil theft and frequent pipeline damages.