PENGASSAN Strike Cost Nigeria 200,000 Barrels Daily — Ojulari

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, has revealed that the recent industrial action by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) led to a production loss of over 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, in addition to disruptions in gas supply and power generation across the country.

Ojulari made the disclosure on Sunday night after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at his Lagos residence, where he briefed the President on developments in the oil and gas sector and the progress of the company’s ongoing reforms.

According to Ojulari, the strike, which affected critical operations in key oil and gas facilities, also led to a temporary shutdown of power generation, amounting to about 1,200 megawatts.

“It was unfortunate that the Dangote and PENGASSAN issue led to a strike. Whenever critical staff manning vital facilities are not available, it becomes almost impossible to maintain operations,” Ojulari said.

“In this particular case, we lost significant production — over 200,000 barrels per day — that was deferred. Gas production was also affected, and power generation was impacted to the tune of about 1.2 megawatts.”

He commended the swift intervention of the federal government in resolving the crisis, noting that the Ministry of Labour and the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) played a key role in restoring normalcy.

“I’m very pleased that through the leadership of the Minister of Labour and with the full support of the NSA, everyone was brought to the table. A communiqué has been agreed on the way forward, and we are hopeful that all parties will abide by it,” he said.

Ojulari added that production levels have since stabilised, with most facilities returning to full operations, while efforts continue to recover deferred output.

“Since then, we have been able to return production back to status quo. There are still one or two areas we’re trying to catch up on, but overall, we’ve gradually restored lost production,” he stated.

Turning to the recent rise in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas, Ojulari described the increase as temporary and artificial, attributing it to logistics disruptions during the strike period.

“The increase you saw was relatively artificial. For the period of the strike, movements and loadings were delayed for about two to three days. Because of that, supply was constrained, and those who had reserves took advantage of the gap,” he explained.

“Now that things are back to normal, prices should return to what they were before the strike.”

The NNPCL boss expressed optimism about the country’s overall production outlook, noting that Nigeria recorded its highest oil output in five years — 1.68 million barrels per day — in September, alongside an all-time high gas production level of over 7 billion standard cubic feet per day.

He reaffirmed the company’s commitment to President Tinubu’s directive to raise national oil production to two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million barrels per day by 2030, while also expanding gas output and investment inflows.

“Our mandate is clear — grow production and gas capacity, attract investments, and ensure energy security. With the turnaround maintenance and recovery efforts we’ve implemented, we expect to reach about 1.8 million barrels per day by the end of the year,” Ojulari said.

He assured that NNPCL remains focused on consolidating the progress achieved so far, improving operational efficiency, and sustaining dialogue with key stakeholders to prevent future disruptions in the nation’s energy supply chain.