Group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari,  has announced that oil production in Nigeria surged to 1.6 million barrels per day from the previous figure of less than one million bpd a few months ago.

He made this known during a media briefing held by the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Olawale Edun in Abuja.

Kyari also noted a decline in petrol consumption, with a 30 per cent reduction attributed to the removal of the subsidy by President Bola Tinubu.

According to Kyari, this decrease in fuel demand has led to a corresponding 30 per cent reduction in NNPCL’s foreign exchange requirements for fuel imports.

During the briefing, Minister Edun unveiled the Tinubu administration’s ambitious plan to attract Nigerian funds held in domiciliary accounts within and abroad to reinvigorate the economy.

Further, Kyari stated that the $3 billion deal with the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM) was not a loan but a forward sale arrangement and clarified that it had not collapsed.