Nigerian Oil Production Drops

Nigeria’s crude oil output dropped by 100,000 barrels per day in the month of March moving from 2.250 million barrels per day in February to 2.150 million barrels per day. The drop in Nigeria’s oil output is blamed on the recent attacks on oil and gas facilities in the restive Niger-Delta region as well as the incessant cases of abduction within the region. Although hostages taken are often released unharmed, this has failed to inspire confidence from oil companies whose expatriate staff have severally been abducted, thus leading to a halt in production activities in a number oil fields within the country. Nigeria at some point was reported to have hit a crude oil production capacity of 3 million barrels per day and this capacity has recently dropped by as much as 850,000 barrels per day.
At this rate, will Nigeria realize its target to hit a crude oil production capacity of 4 million barrels per day by 2010? Nigeria surely has the oil reserves to support such ambitious production capacity but will the on-going restiveness in the Niger-Delta permit the attainment of this goal? The Nigerian government observing the enormous costs implications of the long running neglect of the Niger-Delta region and the consequent restiveness in the region, must act fast to arrest the situation if the oil sector is to witness a constant steady growth.