BONNY, NIGERIA�Agip Nigeria, a unit of Eni SPA, plans to invest $1 billion in the Nigerian oil industry in the next 3 years to increase its production to 360,000 boe/d from the current 240,000 boe/d, said Gros Pietro, chairman of Eni.
Pietro said in an interview that the company's production worldwide currently stood at 1 million b/d. The company had plans to increase its global output to 1.8 million b/d.
Pietro was in Nigeria to witness the official inauguration of Nigeria's $3.8 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. Agip holds 10.4% equity in the Nigerian LNG project.
Pietro said Agip decided to invest in Nigeria's LNG project because it had good potential. There are readily available markets in Asia, Europe, and South America.
Pietro said the company was also determined to end gas flares from its operational areas in Nigeria by 2004. It would do this through gas reinjection and use of gas for power generation.
Agip Nigeria would build a power generating plant in Kwale, southwest Nigeria, within the next 30 months, to contribute to the socioeconomic development of the country, he noted.
