The Minister of State for Petroleum,
Dr.Ibe Kachikwu has said that Nigeria is seeking about $40bn to $50bn investment
in oil projects with China.
Kachikwu, in an interview
with Bloomberg Television in Beijing, said the country had signed a potential
deal for $8.5bn of investment with China North Industries Group Corporation.
“We’re looking to raise
about $40bn to $50bn, which covers the infrastructure gap that we see in Nigeria.
The need for new resources is very key; we do not have those resources. Going
to places like China, which has a huge capacity to put money in the oil sector,
is very helpful,” he stated.
The minister said the
nation’s crude oil output rose to as much as 1.9 million barrels per day as of
Saturday, adding that output should rise to 2.2 million bpd next month if
repairs of the Forcados pipeline were completed.
Kachikwu said, “From January
to April this year, we were producing an average of 1.9 million bpd, which is
basically within the threshold of 2.2 million bpd that we budgeted for the
year.
“But obviously, in May and
June, we suffered a lot of militant attacks, which took us down from about 2.2
million bpd to 1.3 million bpd. We managed to have begun to lead conversation
with the militants; a lot of engagement is taking place on the authorisation of
President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We have been able to get
production up back to about 1.9 million bpd as of two days ago. By the time the
Forcados line is repaired in July, we should be able to come back to expected
production ceiling for this year of 2.2 million bpd.”
According to him, the
country will increase its oil production to enable it cover the gap created by
the supply disruptions experienced between May and June 2016
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