The African nation plans to increase oil production to at least 2 million barrels per day, its finance minister has said
Nigeria is aiming to increase revenues by 60% this year to help keep debt at sustainable levels and alleviate economic hardship, Finance Minister Wale Edun said on Wednesday, according to the Semafor Africa news outlet.
While the target is ambitious, it is necessary for the West African country to reduce its fiscal deficit from 6.1% of GDP to 3.8%, Edun said in a speech at Semafor’s World Economy Summit in Washington.
According to the Nigerian Debt Management Office, Abuja’s public debt reached $108.2 billion at the end of 2023, representing an increase of 123% since 2012, roughly six times the country’s GDP growth rate. Last year, debt financing took up more than 90% of the government’s budget.
Finance Minister Edun has said debt will remain a source of development financing for the Nigerian government, but it can be addressed through revenue.
“Look at the US’s debt figures but the difference is that they have the revenue – taxes and other government income – to service it,” he said, adding that “that’s what lenders want.”
The official stated that as part of revenue-generating measures, Abuja is working to increase oil production to at least 2 million barrels per day (bpd).
Last year, Africa’s top oil producer failed to meet its 2023 target of 1.69 million bpd, producing only 1.47 million, according to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.