Nigeria to increase gas production to 5bcfd

Nigeria will increase its gas production to five billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) by 2014 to help its domestic market and export earnings, a top official from the county's national petroleum company said. Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, Group Managing Director at Nigeria National Petroleum Company, said the country's focus was now on making the domestic supply obligation for LNG realised above both in the short and medium terms. Talking to reporters at the World National Companies Congress in Abu Dhabi after delivering a keynote speech, Barkindo said: "The Train 7 project of Nigeria LNG is the biggest Train so far of 8.8 million tonnes and there is capacity for even Train 8. The Train 7 capacity increase depends on shareholders' obligations to meet domestic demand. We have the commitment to raise the power generation to 6000MW by the end of this year. We require additional 1.2bcfd above that in order to meet the target." Therefore, he added, the performance of the oil company, and other national companies, will facilitate ongoing and the future projects. "Our priority at the moment remains meeting these domestic supply obligations which we are confident to be able to meet by end of this year." Barkindo said by 2014, when full commerciality in a market-driven gas sector is achieved, Nigeria would have supplied an additional five bcfd to the domestic market. "We are also exporting gas and that will continue and we have enough resources to meet both domestic and export markets." Referring to the world oil prices, he said $70 per barrel was the most acceptable to all – both consumers and producers. He said he favoured $70 per barrel as a stable global price that would bring the world out of the economic crisis. "An acceptable and favourable oil price will be around $70 per barrel, and that is what we are hearing from the G8. Even G8 is coming forward to make these propositions." About dialogue between producers and consumers for a price, Barkindo said it was about to be finalised and the results would come out very soon. "I think the consumer-producer dialogue is maturing. We are probably learning almost late as a result of the corrections we have seen over the last years. However, it is a very positive direction. "The proposition comes from the world's major eight economies and Nigeria is part of this global market, where we are a major supplier of oil and gas and we will continue to be for many years to come. Nigeria has always been a part of it in terms of prices and we would like to see this debate materialise into policy decisions between governments as well companies." Keep up with the latest business news from the region with the daily Emirates Business 24|7 newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please click here .