Minister: Low Prices Will Hamper Nigeria's Bid To Boost Output

Consistently low oil prices will hamper Nigeria's bid to boost output to 4 million barrels per day (bpd), Oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke was quoted as saying on Tuesday at an oil and gas conference in the capital Abuja. "Flexibility in capex and funding in general will be further constrained in the year 2015," the minister said in a speech read out by Joseph Dawha, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. 

Africa's biggest oil producer has been hit hard by global oil prices that have around halved since June, because it accounts for up to 80 percent of government revenues and about 95 percent of foreign reserves. "Consistently depressed oil prices will limit the industry's scope to manoeuvre, start-up key projects and revitalise marginal field production thus hampering the set target of 4 million bpd," the minister said. "The industry must challenge itself to raise funding in order to meet these targets."