The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has restored 275, 000 barrels of oil per day production after settling the industrial feud between TotalEnergies and oil workers’ union.
The deal was brokered yesterday after NNPCL intervention which settled the rift between the operator of the NNPC/TotalEnergies JV on the one hand and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) on the other.
Following the intervention, the Unions have agreed to suspend ongoing industrial action leading to immediate restoration of 275, 000 barrels of oil per day production.
The NNPC said the restoration of production follows a peace deal brokered between the management of TotalEnergies and the two unions.
According to the communiqué issued at the end of a marathon negotiation session chaired by Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, executive vice president, Upstream, NNPC, all parties committed to resolving all the issues within an agreed framework.
The communiqué was signed by TotalEnergies Matthieu Bouyer, MD/CEO; Festus Osifo, PENGASSAN president, and Williams Akporegha, NUPENG president.
According to the communiqué, the peace agreement was witnessed by EVP Upstream of the NNPC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, and chief upstream investment officer, NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services, Bala Wunti. Also in attendance was deputy managing director, TotalEnergies, Victor Bandele.
However, the NNPCL did not disclose the nature of the dispute or the workers’ demands, which had not been previously announced.
Nigeria’s oil production stood at 1.49 million barrels per day in October, according to data from the petroleum regulator, still below the 2023 budget target of 1.69 million bpd.
Although Nigeria’s production has been improving this year, crude theft, illegal refining and lack of investment in the sector have hobbled output, which has remained below its OPEC quota of 1.74 million bpd.
That has led to fears that NNPCL may struggle to supply crude to the 650,000 bpd Dangote Refinery, which has missed several targets to start production.
The NNPC will supply the Dangote refinery with up to six cargoes of crude oil in December to be used in test runs.
