Participation of Nigerians in the country’s oil and gas industry and value retention has hit 60 per cent, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil) Senator Heineken Lokpobiri disclosed in Abuja Monday during a courtesy call by of the Minister of Petroleum, Republic of Congo, Stev Simplice Onanga and his delegation.
The team came to learn from Nigeria’s robust experience in oil and gas production and especially local content policy implementation.
Lokpobiri recalled that the International Oil Companies (IOCs) used to account for 90 per cent of Nigeria’s production, which has now reduced by 30 per cent in favour of indigenous companies.
The improvement, according to him, also indicates 60 per cent of retention of the value of petroleum production in Nigeria.
“I mean, you don’t need any interpreter to tell you that before now it used to be 90 per cent IOCs, right now we have 60 per cent indigenous, you know, companies, you know, accounting for the production we have in Nigeria.
“That means 60 per cent retention of value in the country. And so, I believe that that is a tremendous impact, you know, in our economy in Nigeria,” he said.
Lokpobiri attributed the achievements to the strategic and hard decisions of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said the IOCs have also decided to operate deep water offshore because of their exclusive competence in the area.
On the other hand, Lokpobiri disclosed that the IOCs have divested the onshore to indigenous firms, which Nigerians also operate.
Asked whether a further increase in volume of crude oil production would result in lower petroleum products pump prices, he said being an international commodity, higher input from Nigeria may not necessarily result in lower pump prices in the country because the industry has been deregulated.
The minister said NIgeria is on course to hit 3million barrels per day production in the next few years as the number of operational rigs have grown to 64 from about 10.
Lokpobiri said: “The price here is the same as the price in London. And so, whether we produce three billion barrels or not, it may not affect the price of locally refined products. That is the essence of deregulation.
“Before we came, they were about 10 to 14. Today, we have over 65 rigs, actively working in different fields in Nigeria. What we are producing today was the wells that were drilled by the IOCs.”
He said the government’s complete deregulation of the industry has resulted in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals largest refinery Initial Public Offer (IPO).
He said: “Market dynamics must be allowed to determine the price.”
He vowed to support the Republic of Congo with Nigeria’s 15 years local content implementation experience.
Meanwhile, Onanga revealed that the aim of his visit “is really to come and to see how Nigerians develop the local content policy and things like that. You know that we try to do something in Congo.”
SOURCE: The Nation Nigeria
