Nigeria is producing around 1.8 million barrels of oil daily, up from an average 1.63 million bpd in the third quarter of the year. The current rate of production is still 400,000 bpd below the peak of 2.2 million bpd before the militant attacks on oil infrastructure started in the Niger Delta. Oil Minister Emmanuel Kachikwu, who presented the figures, said the top priorities of the government for 2017 were to achieve “lasting peace” in the oil-rich region and improve Nigeria’s oil refining infrastructure. Kachikwu was speaking at a forum in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, where later in the day he is expected to sign a deal with several Western oil companies that will settle unpaid debts from joint ventures totaling US$5.1 billion. The companies involved in the deal include Italy’s Eni, Shell, Exxon, and Chevron. Interestingly enough, in September, the government in Abuja said it was launching a lawsuit […]