Tony Elumelu, founder of Heirs Energies, has said Nigeria has to boost its oil production to generate revenue for economic diversification.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Elumelu, while speaking at the 2025 Heirs Energies’s petroleum industry leadership forum in Abuja, emphasised the need for massive investment in oil and gas to power industries and ensure energy security.
“We cannot industrialise Africa, Nigeria, without improving access to energy and electricity in particular,” Elumelu said.
He highlighted Heirs Energies’ progress, having acquired OML 17 from Shell and now producing over 53,000 barrels of oil daily.
Elumelu noted that Nigeria’s oil output dropped to less than 1 million barrels per day under former President Muhammadu Buhari, but has increased to 1.8 million barrels per day under the current Tinubu administration. However, he emphasised the need to reach 2 million barrels per day, stating, “We know that we need oil money to diversify Nigeria away from oil.”
Elumelu also acknowledged challenges in the power sector, particularly gas supply constraints, and expressed optimism about Heirs Energies’ plans to expand its oil output capacity to 100,000 barrels per day.
