Oil production rises as unions meet FG over strike threat

TCR NEWS
28 Jun 2016



Oil production rises as unions meet FG over strike threat


Nigeria’s oil production has risen to 1.9m barrels a day (b/d) and should rise to 2.2m by July end if pipeline repairs are completed, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, said yesterday in a Bloomberg television interview monitored from Beijing, China.


Militant attacks earlier this year reduced Nigeria’s oil production to 1.3m barrels from 2.2m a day but the minister said an ongoing cease-fire with the militant groups had enabled repair works on some pipelines which had returned production volumes.


                                                    Minister of State Petroleum Resource/NNPC GMD, Ibe kachikwu

 


Nigeria lost its position to Angola as Africa’s top crude oil producer as a result of the attacks which have ceased after government announced it was ready to dialogue with the militants.
 “There’s a cease-fire that is ongoing already, which is why we are able to repair some pipelines and bring back some volumes,” the minister said.


Kachikwu who is in China to lead a major road show to raise money for oil projects said Nigeria was seeking as much as $50bn in investment for oil projects as it signed a potential deal worth $8.5bn with China North Industries Group Corp.


 “Going to places like China, which have  huge capacities to put money in the oil sector, is very helpful,” he said.


Meanwhile, leaders of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) are scheduled to meet with Kachikwu and the labour minister, Chris Ngige, Thursday over strike threats, Bloomberg also reported.


The General Secretary of PENGASSAN, Lumumba Okugbawa, said the unions were concerned about sack workers or threats to lay them off at local units of Halliburton, FUGRO, Petrostuff and Frontier Oil.


The unions will meet on July 1 to appraise government position and decide on a strike.


DAILY TRUST


 

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