Nigeria’s Petroleum Minister, Mrs Deziani Allison-Madueke
Lagos — The Nigeria Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has said Nigeria and Angola are still the two dominant producers of crude oil from the Gulf of Guinea region. She stated that out of the 15 countries, which make up the Gulf of Guinea region with about 5.4 million barrels per day (mbpd) of crude oil production in 2012, both countries accounted for 47 per cent and 34 per cent of its production respectively with Nigeria ahead of all.
A statement from the spokesperson of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Tumini Green, yesterday in Abuja, quoted the minister as saying that oil supply from the Gulf of Guinea region in 2011 was equivalent to 27 per cent of European Union (EU) consumption and 29 per cent of total US petroleum consumption in the same year. Alison-Madueke, however, stated that such production capacity was been threatened by increasing insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea, which had also seen ceaseless cases of hijacks, unauthorised vessel boarding and kidnapping in the region. She spoke at the First Nigerian Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel Africa Conference (OPV) in Lagos, where she was represented by the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Andrew Yakubu.
Alison-Madueke said while providing a breakdown of oil and gas operations in the region that: “The Gulf of Guinea consists of 15 countries with oil production exceeding 5.4 million barrels per day in 2012. Oil supply from the Gulf of Guinea region in 2011 was equivalent to 27 per cent of EU consumption and 29 per cent of total US petroleum consumption in the same year.
“Nigeria and Angola account for 47 per cent and 34 per cent of total Gulf of Guinea oil supply respectively. It is extremely important that Gulf of Guinea countries and their allies collaborate to police the sea lanes of the Gulf of Guinea; disruptions in crude oil supply not only affect countries such as Nigeria but ultimately have an impact on the global economy.” In her description of the security situation, she noted that crude oil theft and illegal oil bunkering in the region had become a major source of concern to the Nigerian government, adding that it was totally unacceptable.
