Crude oil production now 1.65m bpd — Edun

The Federal Government has attributed the present increased crude oil production of 1.65 million barrels per day as against the 1.25 million bpd previously recorded, to improved security in the Niger Delta.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, stated this in Abuja at a podcast hosted by Bruit Costaud in collaboration with Ballard Partners of the U.S.A.

The immediate past Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, is the managing partner of Bruit Costard, a lobbyist and public relations firm and an affiliate of Ballard Partners.

Mr. Edun said the quickest way to get revenue for critical infrastructure is to shore up oil revenue.

He said, “This is the quickest way of giving the government the needed revenue to address our urgent needs. The government doesn’t have enough revenue for critical infrastructure and social services, which are crucial to Nigerians now.

“The prices are still elevated, and as you know, in June 2023, the oil production and sales were roughly 1.25 million barrels per day.

“Now, it is up to 1.65 million barrels per day, that is one source of bringing in dollars and revenue into the government coffers that is non-inflationary”.

The Finance Minister added that non-oil revenue as well as revenues from taxation were also critical to the government.

“If you know about Mr President’s antecedent, the first thing he did in Lagos as governor was to get hold of the revenue. What he did was deploy digitisation. He used the latest technology to block the leakages and improve the efficiency of monitoring and collection”, Edun stated.

According to him, the quickest way to get revenue for critical infrastructure is to shore up oil revenue.

“This is the quickest way of giving the government the needed revenue to address our urgent needs. The government doesn’t have enough revenue for critical infrastructure and social services, which are crucial to Nigerians now.

“The prices are still elevated, and as you know, in June 2023, the oil production and sales were roughly 1.25 million barrels per day.

“Now, it is up to 1.65 million barrels per day, that is one source of bringing in dollars and revenue into the government coffers that is non-inflationary,’’ Edun said.

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He added that non-oil revenue as well as revenues from taxation were also critical to the government.

“If you know about Mr President’s antecedent, the first thing he did in Lagos as governor was to get hold of the revenue.

“What he did was deploy digitisation. He used the latest technology to block the leakages and improve the efficiency of monitoring and collection. This is exactly the same thing we are doing at the federal level now.

“The revenue of the federal government has been totally revamped.

“There has been the application of technology to ensure what is due to the Federal Government, particularly from its various revenue-earning arms, agencies, companies, and enterprises, is not taken,’’ Edun said.

The Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy said that plans were ongoing to incentivise small, medium, and large businesses.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), on March 12, said Nigeria’s average daily crude output dropped to 1.32 million barrels per day (bpd) in February;
Crude oil production fell by 105,000 bpd from 1.42 million bpd recorded in January, despite the Finance Minister saying oil production has increased to 1.65 million barrels per day.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE