Chineme Okafor in Abuja
The Nigerian Association of Energy Economics (NAEE), which is an affiliate of the International Association of Energy Economics (IAEE), on Wednesday said Nigeria’s currently fluctuating oil production level of 2.4 million barrels per day (mbpd) was not enough to guarantee any sustainable economic development for the country.
The NAEE also asked the federal government to take advantage of the opening that the current dip in prices of crude oil on the international market presents to deregulate the country’s downstream oil sector as well as effectively diversify Nigeria’s economy horizontally.
The president and chairman of NAEE governing council, Prof. Wumi Iledare, said this when he briefed journalists in Abuja on the programmes of the association’s forthcoming international conference. He stated that the conference will specifically concentrate on the roles that natural gas and renewable energy can play in energising the economies of developing countries like Nigeria.
NAEE’s assertion is coming at a time Nigeria gave up her top oil producer status in Africa to Angola, having lost some production quantities lately. Latest data from the April Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) showed that Nigeria’s crude oil production fell by 67,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March from 1.744 million bpd 1.677mbpd, while Angola saw its oil output rise to 1.782mbpd within the same period.
Iledare however said: “2.4 million barrels per day of crude oil production is not enough to take this economy to where the government plans it to be.”
He added that the situation has become more complex and difficult for the country with the current drop in crude oil prices, and that the country has shown less concern about using her oil resources to develop her economic capacities.
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