- Lokpobiri made these remarks while responding to questions from State House correspondents at the conclusion of a three-day retreat held at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has pointed out that the most effective way to resolve the fuel crisis in Nigeria is by increasing crude oil production.
He emphasized that without deliberate efforts in this direction, both the downstream and midstream sectors will face challenges.
Lokpobiri made these remarks while responding to questions from State House correspondents at the conclusion of a three-day retreat held at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja.
Furthermore, the Minister highlighted that the federal government is actively working to boost crude oil production to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) by December. He underscored the importance of producing enough crude for refining and distribution within Nigeria.
“But our problem right now, which we inherited, is the low level of production, which was a result of insecurity issues, a lack of investments, and all other concerns. But we are addressing all those issues, and I believe that in the next few months, we will be able to come up with a different report.
“But we have addressed the issue of insecurity; we have rekindled the confidence of international oil companies to come back and begin to reinvest. We are addressing some of the issues they have raised with us, which have to do with both fiscal and regulatory, and so on.
“So I believe that as a ministry, we have set some very ambitious numbers for ourselves that, before the end of the year, we should be doing at least close to 2 million barrels per day,” Lokpobiri stated.
The Minister also emphasised that he has liberalised the process of acquiring a licence to establish, approval to construct, and a licence to operate.
“What I have done is to also liberalise the process to acquire licenses. Before I came they said sometimes it takes so long to acquire licenses, so I said I don’t want to know your face provided the requirements are met, bring them to me. I will sign within 24 hours, and I have signed them.
“I have also said I don’t want to give people licences, and they use it as souvenirs. If you are given a licence, you must use it within the terms, or else I will cancel it. Just like I didn’t know you before signing the licence, I will also cancel without blinking an eye.
“We have a lot of modular refineries that we have given licences to, but the challenge has been the feedstock. Even if you have the modular refinery, do you have the crude to be able to refine it? He added.