Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State Petroleum (Oil), has assured that the reforms that has been carried out in the nation’s oil and gas sector has restored confidence of investors.
The former federal lawmaker noted that before the ending of the year, the Federal Government is expecting a whopping $50 billion investment coming into the oil sector as a result of the reforms.
The minister hinted of a total deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector, saying it is the way to attract investment.
Lokpobiri, who spoke in Abuja on Tuesday on the policy direction of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, said in the last one year, the Federal Government had revolutionized the oil sector, making it very attractive to local and foreign investors.
He said: “The ongoing reform in the oil sector is attracting investors; we have addressed their concerns; and we have regained their confidence. We are expecting about $50 billion worth of investment to come in before the end of the year, and once more investors come in, our oil production will increase.
‘’There are so many oil wells that were drilled and locked up; and part of my mandate is to open up those wells to boost our oil production. “
While saluting the people of the Niger-Delta for maintaining peace in the region, the minister said the peaceful environment had also encouraged improvement of oil production.
The minister also explained that the federal government had made substantial gains in the war against oil thief in the Niger Delta.
According to him, ‘’The marching order given by the President to the Armed Forces, in collaboration with my ministry, the Police, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and other security agencies, to declare a fresh war on perpetrators of oil theft – to improve oil production and revitalise the nation’s ailing economy, is yielding good results.’’
He explained that President Tinubu is leading in the process of developing oil sector and attracting investors to the country, stating that the success of the upstream sector is very important to the success of mainstream/downstream sector.
The minister stated that Nigeria relies so much on crude oil production, and appealed to the media to be part of the journey to develop the sector. ‘’The President means well for Nigerians; we can trust him to do things differently’’, he said.
On the ongoing total deregulation in oil sector, he said the country will be better for it.
According to him, ‘’The current situation is no longer sustainable. Even if the federal government is willing to continue with it, we don’t have the money to do it. The NNPCL cannot be importing fuel and be selling at half price.
‘’The government needs fund to develop infrastructure and better the lives of Nigerians. The money for the subsidy will be deploy to other things like public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs creation.’’
Lokpobiri explained further that total deregulation of oil sector was also expected to allow for more private-sector operators in the sector, saying that when the products are available, the price would find its level.
