Nigeria’s oil production is nearly back
to normal following a sharp drop earlier this year due to rebels
attacking pipelines, the oil minister said Tuesday.
“The reality is that as of today and
this morning, we are at 2.1 million barrels production. That’s
substantial,” Minister of State for Petroleum Emmanuel Kachikwu said in
the nation’s capital of Abuja.
Nigeria normally produces around 2.2
million barrels per day , but output dropped to a low of 1.4 bpd
this year due to rebels attacks.
Addressing the press after a meeting
between Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and representatives from the
oil-producing Niger delta region, Kachikwu said “a lot of behind the
scene engagements” were paying off.
“Part of the expectations by 2017 is to
target zero shutdowns as a result of militancy,” Kachikwu said,
describing the talks as “fairly good, fairly civilised dialogue”.
The meeting was attended by Edwin Clark,
a veteran leader who spoke on behalf of some of the militant groups in
the country’s restive southern swamplands, including the Niger Delta
Avengers.
Clark made 16 demands to the Nigerian
government, including revamping an amnesty programme for ex-militants,
reducing the military presence in the region and cleaning up pollution.
The demands borrow heavily from the
Avengers, who demand a greater share of oil revenue and also want the
government to finish construction of a university.
Without peace in the Niger delta, which
produces the bulk of Nigeria’s oil, Buhari will struggle get the funds
needed to kick-start the Nigerian economy out of its worst slowdown in
years.
But analysts point out that his government can only meet so many of the demands.
“I think it’s the beginning of the discussion,” Dolapo Oni.
“We’ve seen the demands and we know not
all of them can be granted, but as much that can be done I think Buhari
will do,” Oni said.
Then there is the issue of rival militant groups threatening any agreement.
On Sunday, the Niger Delta Greenland
Justice Mandate group claimed an attack on a gas pipeline, saying it
will “never support” the talks and declaring “this is not ending soon.”
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