Nigeria Looks to China for $50 Billion, Says Crude Output Will Soon Reach 2.2 Million BPD

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Wednesday June 29, 2016

Nigeria this week announced it has signed a deal with China North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco) for a potential $8.5 billion worth of investment and is looking to raise up to $50 billion in total to boost its oil production, which is reportedly already on the rise.

Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, disclosed the Norinco deal while in Beijing to lead an NNPC-China Investors' Roadshow 2016: "We're looking to raise about $40 to $50 billion; going to places like China, which have a huge capacity to put money in the oil sector, is very helpful."

Kachikwu did not disclose any particulars of the Norinco deal or when his country would see the benefits of the investment.

Norinco describes itself as "a giant enterprise group engaged in both products operation and capital operation, integrated with R&D, manufacturing, marketing, and services" mainly dealing with "defense products, petroleum & mineral resources exploitation [and], international engineering contracting"; it  has been ranking among the forefront of China's 500 largest state-owned enterprises in terms of total assets and revenue.

While recent militant attacks reduced Nigeria's oil production from 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to 1.3 million, Kachikwu stated that output as of two days ago was between 1.8 million and 1.9 million – and that if repairs to a pipeline are completed, next month's crude output will rise to 2.2 million bpd.

Garba Deen Muhammad, a spokesman for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, said, "Production has increased because we are making repairs to damaged pipelines and installations - and we have not had any major attacks in recent times."

Trouble-plagued Nigeria has surprised many observers of late, as data earlier this month from Windward and Thomson Reuters showed a far smaller drop from April to May than predicted: while May production of 1.37 million bpd was a 30 year low, exports for that month dropped by just 62,000 bpd to 1.67 million bpd, compared to 1.77 million bpd in April, as well as a rise in exports of grades including Bonga, Agbami, Antan, Amenam, Okwori, which helped to offset the losses.