Nigeria is added to the list of oil producers itching to supply more crude at a time when OPEC and allies like Russia are trying to restrict output and prop up prices.
Nigeria is aiming to pump almost 250,000 bopd more by 2020 as part of a wider plan for the nation to lift output to 2.5 MMbpd, Oil Ministry data show. Shoreline Group, the third-biggest independent, wants to double output by December 2018 with Seplat Petroleum Development Co., the second-largest, also intending to produce more.
They are planning to add barrels at the same time as Nigeria participates in a global pact to restrict oil supply that’s being led by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-member nations including Russia. If any one country relents, and similar internal pressures are bubbling up elsewhere, then the entire deal could come under strain.
This move by Nigeria may encourage other nations to disrupt OPEC’s plan. Countries and companies both inside and outside OPEC are looking to add production. Iraq is building infrastructure to allow a huge increase in capacity, while Iran’s oil minister has said the country can produce more almost instantly. An Angolan field will come on stream by year end and add 250,000 bopd, while companies in Russia pushed to pump more before the country renewed its supply-curbs deal with OPEC late last year.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer.
