The Nigerian Government has said that the target of 2.3 million
barrels per day oil production for the 2018 fiscal year was achievable.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, made
this comment in Lagos where he presented draft proposals for the Medium
Term Fiscal Framework/Fiscal Strategy Paper (2018-2020) to civil
societies groups and other stakeholders in the private sector.
A statement by the minister’s Media Adviser, Akpandem James, quoted
the minister as pointing out that the proposals he was presenting for
the consideration of the general public were drawn from the Economic
Recovery and Growth Plan (2017-2020) which is the blueprint guiding all
the economic plans of the Government.
He also explained that government was aware of the diminishing long
term prospects of crude oil, which was why it was important that the
country maximized the use and exploitation of its petroleum resources.
He said, “With the inclusion of our current condensates production of
400,000 to 450,000 barrels a day, we have been able to produce more
than two million barrels a day at some periods this year.
“However, average production for the year is still about 1,900,000
barrels a day but with the increasing production we should be able to
average more than two million barrels by the end of the year.”
He argued that even with the current levels of borrowings, the
country’s fiscal deficit was still well within the three per cent limit
prescribed by the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
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