Elumelu Urges Higher Oil Production For Nigeria’s Economic Growth

The chairman of Heirs Holdings, Mr Tony Elumelu, has stated that Nigeria needed increased oil production to fund the country’s economic diversification and development.

Elumelu stated this on Thursday at the Nigeria Petroleum Industry Leadership Discourse in Abuja, highlighting the crucial role of oil revenues in driving industrialisation, energy security, and infrastructural growth.

The discourse, themed “Nigeria’s Oil Production Growth Roadmap: Acceleration Imperatives”, was convened under the umbrella of Heirs Energies, a subsidiary of Heirs Holdings, to bring together industry stakeholders and policymakers to strategise on expanding oil production.

Elumelu, who also serves as the chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Transcorp Group, emphasised that while there is a global dialogue about energy transition, Africa’s foremost concern should be energy security.

He highlighted the necessity for substantial investment in oil and gas to fuel industries, support businesses, and guarantee electricity access for both homes and enterprises.

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While acknowledging the growth in oil production under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, he noted that Nigeria was still underperforming compared to its OPEC quota.

“You know, under Buhari’s administration, we dropped less than 1 million barrels. We are happy that under the current administration, in general, we produce 1.8 million barrels of oil a day. But we are not satisfied with that figure.

“We want to take it to over 2 million. Because we know that we need oil money to diversify Nigeria away from oil. And we need to have the money to help develop our country,” he said.

Elumelu also emphasised the significance of boosting oil production to generate foreign exchange, stabilize the naira, and enhance national security.

He noted that boosting crude oil output would provide the financial resources required for industrialisation and infrastructure development, particularly in sectors such as power generation and manufacturing.

As vhairman of Transcorp Group, Elumelu revealed that Transcorp Power, Nigeria’s leading power generation company, currently has a capacity of 2,000 megawatts but is unable to operate at full capacity due to gas supply constraints.

Elumelu also called for stronger collaboration between government, industry players, and investors to achieve the target of increasing oil production to 2.5–2.7 million barrels per day.

He noted that the policy reforms and executive orders signed by President Tinubu in the past 12 months have improved investor confidence, security, and the overall business climate in the oil sector.

Elumelu disclosed that when Heirs Energies acquired OML 17 from Shell, production was 21,000 barrels per day. It has since risen to 53,000 barrels per day, and the company aims for 100,000 barrels per day.

Elumelu expressed his belief that Nigeria could exceed 2 million barrels per day if all stakeholders work together on production expansion, infrastructure improvement, and security of oil facilities.

While Heirs Energies plans to integrate downstream operations in the future, its primary focus remains on increasing crude oil production. Access to this raw material facilitates the transition to refining, fertilizers, and petrochemicals.