PENGASSAN strike disrupted oil, gas and power supply nationwide, however NNPCL CEO Bayo Ojulari assures Nigerians that production has now stabilized.
Nigeria’s oil production dropped by more than 200,000 barrels per day during last week’s strike by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), the head of the state oil firm has said.
Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), disclosed the figures after briefing President Bola Tinubu in Lagos on Sunday night about the impact of the industrial action and ongoing reforms in the energy sector.
Ojulari said the strike crippled operations at key facilities and caused disruptions in gas supply and electricity generation, cutting power output by about 1,200 megawatts.
“It was unfortunate that the Dangote and PENGASSAN issue led to a strike. When critical staff are unavailable, maintaining operations becomes almost impossible,” he said. “We lost significant production — over 200,000 barrels per day — and gas production and power generation were also affected.”
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He credited the swift intervention of the federal government for ending the strike, saying the Ministry of Labor and the Office of the National Security Adviser brought all parties to the table to resolve the crisis.
“I’m pleased that a communiqué was agreed upon, and we are hopeful everyone will abide by it,” Ojulari said, adding that production has largely returned to normal and deferred output is being recovered.
Turning to the recent surge in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), also known as cooking gas, Ojulari described it as “temporary and artificial,” blaming it on logistics delays during the strike. He assured that prices should normalize as supply flows resume.
Ojulari expressed confidence in the country’s recovery trajectory, noting that Nigeria reached its highest oil output in five years — 1.68 million barrels per day — in September, alongside record gas production exceeding seven billion standard cubic feet daily.
He reaffirmed NNPCL’s commitment to President Tinubu’s production targets of two million barrels per day by 2027 and three million by 2030.
“Our mandate is clear: grow production and gas capacity, attract investment, and ensure energy security,” he said. “With our current recovery efforts, we expect to reach about 1.8 million barrels per day by the end of the year.”
