State-held Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) aims to make its exploration and production unit—the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC)—the top oil producer in the country, local media quoted NNPC group managing director Maikanti Baru as saying. NNPC aims to make NPDC the top E&P company operating in Nigeria and rivaling in terms of production Shell and the other international oil majors. Currently, NPDC produces 230,000 bpd, while the goal is to take that daily production level up to 500,000 bpd soon, according to NNPC. As of September last year, NPDC was the fifth largest oil producing company in Nigeria. Back then, the company was pumping 180,000 bpd, and plans were to raise oil production to 300,000 bpd by 2018, then to 400,000 bpd by 2019, and up to 500,000 bpd by 2020. According to industry data quoted by Nigerian outlets in September 2017, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is […]