Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation announced planned investments of around $20b in its operations next year, with the aim of ensuring that Nigeria’s crude oil production capacity hits 3m bpd by the end of 2016, This Day Live reported.

The announcement was made by Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, minister-designate and Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Saturday.

Speaking at a luncheon organized by the Petroleum Club in Lagos, Kachikwu further stated that the preliminary results of seismic studies conducted in the Chad Basin showed potentials for oil discovery in the area. He said he was optimistic that an announcement to that effect would be made by the year end.

Kachikwu also unveiled his plan to source for $500m to repair refineries, to be repaid over a period of eight years. He said NNPC would invest about $20b in its operations in 2016, according to Vanguardgr.

“I am looking at 2016 to raise about $20b. Chevron is bringing in $1.2b, though we expect more from them. Luckily, the environment is right for investment. We are going to put the money on infrastructural development, production,” he said.