Nigeria oil production costs inflated by security and infrastructure, says Donald Duke

Donald Duke, the presidential candidate for the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), has claimed that Nigeria spends more on securing its crude oil than on the actual extraction process. During an interview on Arise Television, the former Cross River State governor stated that while the actual cost of extracting crude is between $12 and $15 per barrel, security expenses and dilapidated infrastructure have driven production costs up to between $25 and $45 per barrel.

Duke argued that these high operating costs, driven by issues such as oil theft and pipeline vandalism, contribute to the high cost of petrol and the general cost of living in Nigeria. He noted that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) is attempting to reduce production costs to approximately $20 per barrel.

To address economic productivity, Duke proposed reducing the price of petrol to ₦300 per litre, suggesting that revenue from other petroleum products could be utilized to facilitate this reduction. He emphasized that as an oil-producing nation, the government must tackle factors hindering energy affordability and citizen productivity.