DPR targets more Oil Production

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has reaffirmed its commitment to boost production in the nation’s oil reserves.

According to the Department, out of 7,000 reservoirs in the country, operators in the oil and gas industry are currently utilising only 1,300 reservoirs.

The Director, DPR, Sarki Auwalu, at the 2nd quarter, 2021 business dinner of the Petroleum Club Lagos sponsored, said plans were also ongoing to improve the business environment for oil and gas investments to ensure investors get returns on their investments.

“We cannot have 7000 reservoirs and we are only producing from 1300. We cannot afford to stay with a 40 per cent recovery factor. We are also optimising the production to ensure that investors get a return on their investments while also reducing the cost of production,” he said.

 “For the midstream, our focus is to achieve refinery revolution under the decade of gas. We have to shift from a resource cost to a resource use industry and for us to migrate. We have to create the need and satisfy the need and that is the essence of the decade of gas.”

He said the current outlook for Nigeria’s oil and gas is to migrate from an oil-driven economy to an energy-driven state, stressing that the decade of gas with priority on optimising gas resources and deepening gas utilisation would help to address the issue of subsidy.

“To eliminate subsidies, what we need is an alternative fuel, and without an alternative, people would be subjected to higher prices and that is why we go for price freedom. We are encouraging investors in the sale of gas because we know that once this is achieved, the issue of subsidy and volume would be addressed.”

He said with refining capacity increasing, there is an urgent need to increase the nation’s capacity to produce to remain a net exporter of oil and gas on the continent.

“Today, we have huge additional capacity in domestic refining, so the challenge is that the refining capacity is increasing. We have to increase our production capacity so that we remain the net exporters because we believe this would guarantee and fortify the future,” he added.

He said the future is bright for the nation’s oil and gas industry, maintaining that only stronger political will, transparency and accountability would guarantee a virile oil and gas sector.

Petroleum Industry Bill

On the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), the DPR boss stated that the passage of the bill would bring about clarity in the legal framework and would also attract investment both local and foreign into the sector.

“When we issue a license to create investments, we want that license to make investors profitable and with the new law, this is what we are set to achieve which is getting a good investment climate. If the oil and gas business is private sector-driven, you already know the future is assured. All the uncertainties that would come would be addressed by the bill,” he said.

Guardian/Hauwa Abu