Nigeria Oil Output Near 1.8 Mln Bpd, Set To Sign Debt Deal -oil Min

Dec 15 Nigeria's oil production is close to 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu told a forum in Abuja on Thursday. Kachikwu and oil majors ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Eni and Chevron are expected to sign a deal later in the day over repayments of$5.1 billion in debt from joint venture projects.
Nigeria has struggled with debt to oil majors amid the fall in oil prices over the past two years, as well as due to production declines from peak production of 2.2 million bpd as a result of persistent militant attacks in the oil-producing Niger Delta region.The Forcados crude stream, with roughly 300,000 bpd, has been under force majeure since February, and in the third quarter production was roughly 1.63 million bpd, according to the country's statistics office. Kachikwu said the primary goals for 2017 would be to secure "lasting peace" in the Niger delta, gain external funding for oil investments and improve the nation's oil refining system.
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