(Ecofin Agency) - The Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Kachikwu (photo), has announced that the country hopes to reach a crude oil production of 2.1 million barrels per day in January 2017.

The country is currently targeting an increase of 200,000 barrels per day, with its current production being 1.9 million barrels per day.

This is coming after the Minister on Monday said that Nigeria will maintain oil output at 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) with all three of its main fields on line, Reuters reports.

The West African country in October said it expected its oil production rate to increase by 22 percent by the year's end to 2.2 million bpd.

Besides the impact of low oil prices, the country's energy facilities have been damaged due to attacks by militants demanding for a greater share of the country's oil wealth.

Kachikwu said he is hoping for more production cuts from non-OPEC producers at the Saturday meeting of oil producers in Vienna, in order to facilitate the return to $60 of crude oil prices by December 2017.

OPEC is to meeting non-OPEC countries in Vienna on December 10, 2016 to finalize a global oil production cut agreement made last week.

Anita Fatunji