Nigeria is in talks with oil majors and banks to
raise capital for new drilling and to repay up to $4
billion in debt that the state oil firm has accumulated
over years of mismanagement, the firm's head told
Reuters.
Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, who is also the minister of
state for petroleum, said he wanted to increase output
to up to 2.5 million barrels per day by the end of 2016.
Currently, the OPEC member pumps 2.3 million bpd.
President Muhammadu Buhari has made reforming the
oil sector a priority as a slump in oil prices hammers
the economy. The former military ruler has fired the
NNPC board and appointed Kachikwu to overhaul a
company whose opaque structures have allowed
corruption and oil theft to flourish.
Nigeria's oil and gas output has been relatively
stagnant as big offshore projects have been held up by
much-delayed government funding and uncertainty
over fiscal terms.
Africa's biggest economy produces oil with foreign and
local firms through production-sharing contracts and
joint ventures (JVs) but investments have been held
up because NNPC has been unable to pay its part: bills
have been piling up since 2012.
Kachikwu said debt as of November stood at $3.5-$4
billion, which NNPC wanted to cut through deals such
as a $1.2 billion multi-year drilling financing signed
with Chevron in September.
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