Tony Elumelu calls for higher oil production to fund Nigeria’s economic diversification, stressing energy security and industrial growth

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]hairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, has emphasised the urgent need to boost Nigeria’s oil production to fund economic diversification and national development.

Also read: Tony Elumelu advocates for Africa’s growth at UN General Assembly

Speaking at the Nigeria Petroleum Industry Leadership Discourse in Abuja, he stressed that despite global energy transition discussions, Nigeria must prioritise energy security.

He argued that increased oil output is essential for generating foreign exchange, stabilising the naira, and funding infrastructure projects.

Elumelu highlighted Nigeria’s oil production struggles, noting that under former President Muhammadu Buhari, output had dropped below one million barrels per day.

While production has now recovered to 1.8 million barrels per day under President Bola Tinubu, he believes the country must surpass two million barrels daily to meet economic targets.

“We need oil money to diversify Nigeria away from oil,” Elumelu stated, stressing that revenues from crude oil sales remain crucial for national development.

Elumelu, who also chairs United Bank for Africa and Transcorp Group, revealed that Heirs Energies, which acquired OML 17 from Shell, had increased its daily production from 21,000 barrels to 53,000 barrels. He aims to push production to 100,000 barrels per day.

Despite being Nigeria’s largest power producer with a 2,000MW generation capacity, Transcorp Power is constrained by gas shortages.

Elumelu stressed that boosting gas production alongside crude oil is vital for industrial operations and improving electricity access.

The discourse, themed “Nigeria’s Oil Production Growth Roadmap: Acceleration Imperatives”, gathered key industry players, including OPEC, SEPLAT, Shell, Oando Energy, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, expressed optimism that Nigeria would meet its 2.06 million barrels per day target for the 2025 budget.

He credited recent production gains to security improvements, policy reforms, and President Tinubu’s leadership in streamlining oil sector regulations.

Lokpobiri also highlighted that executive orders now allow oil companies to approve contracts below $10 million without delays, improving operational efficiency.

Elumelu called for stronger collaboration between the government, investors, and industry stakeholders to push production to 2.5–2.7 million barrels per day.

He acknowledged that policy reforms had restored investor confidence, leading to increased reinvestment from international oil firms.

Also read: Applications open for Tony Elumelu Foundation’s 2025 entrepreneurship programmes

Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) CEO, Gbenga Komolafe, noted that the Project 1 Million Barrels Additional Production initiative had increased daily output from 1.5 million to 1.75 million barrels per day since its launch in late 2024.