Finance Minister, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, has expressed hope that crude oil production from the Niger Delta region would continue its recovery in the months ahead.
An agency report quoted him at the weekend as saying that Royal Dutch Shell�s (RDSA) move to lift a force majeure on its Forcados facility pointed to increased supply from the Niger Delta , where oil production had been hit by persistent attacks from militia groups.
�Things are already getting better in the Niger Delta. If Shell is also telling us this – that things are getting better and that they are beginning to get back in to the areas they left in the Delta – then we can believe it.
�The local communities are engaged in the process, and the future prognosis is good,� Dr. Usman said.
Currently, around 450,000 barrels a day of Nigeria�s crude oil production is offline as a result of the violence, but at one stage, 900,000 barrels a day of production was shut in.
The Forcados platform operated at a capacity of 380,000 barrels a day prior to the militant attacks but traders said production from the field had picked up in the last four months.
The 2008 budget proposal assumes a budget oil price of $54 a barrel and increased oil production, signaling at least the intent of more expansionary fiscal policy.