The Presidency has said the increase in crude oil output to 1.7 million barrels per day was possible because of President Bola Tinubu’s political will.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital and New Media, O’tega Ogra, said the increase in crude oil output was the first in a long time and showed the willingness of the federal government to make the oil and gas industry work.
Ogra disclosed that 56,000 illegal refineries and 4,480 illegal connections were destroyed by security agencies in the Niger Delta region.
President Tinubu’s aide said this on Monday while reacting to report from “Operation Delta Safe” joint task force, on crude oil output, on Sunday. 
In a statement on Sunday, the Coordinator of OPDS Joint Media Campaign Centre, Major Kayode Owolabi, said, “Daily crude oil output has reached about 1.7 million barrels per day indicating that International Oil Companies are operating at maximum production capacity with little interruption or vandalism along the three major pipelines.
“The terminal factor on all pipelines (TNP, TEP, and TRP) recorded 100 percent between 1 and 3 August 2024, with daily crude oil output estimated at 1.7 million barrels per day.
“This indicates production at full capacity by the IOCs, despite a reported incident of a hacksaw cut along the TNP in Zone 7 this morning by PINL.”
Owolabi added that the increase in production was a result of actions taken by the OPDS, including “a series of sensitization visits, assessment of hotspots and subsequent raids as well as destruction of illegal refineries, seizure of IRS materials and boats.”
In his reaction to the report, Ogra noted: “Even more important to note is that all this has occurred with an improved focus on protecting our national assets like pipelines, which has enabled producers like NNPCL and its local and IOC JV partners to move their products.
“As of January, 5600 illegal refineries and 4480 illegal connections had been destroyed during this new govt drive to protect the pipelines, thus giving NNPC/IOCs/local producers access to export terminals for their crude.
“For the first time in a long while, there is the political will to make the oil and gas industry work as it should.”
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