MAJOR players in the Nation’s Oil and Gas industry have expressed worry over illegal refineries still dotting the landscape of Niger.
They also frowned at the current boiler plate issues of the crude theft, maintaining that oil bunkers still remain hazardous to the national economic survival and security.
Speaking on the crude oil theft in the Niger Delta, Professor Godwin Igwe said not much had improved since three years because of fuel scarcity.
According to him, refineries are still not producing at their installed capacities to meet the needs of the country.
He lamented that with gas flaring still going on, the nation’s wealth is wasted in smoke, creating environmental pollution havoc to it citizens.
“Our petrochemical industry still needs an investment boost to unlock the potential of this latent sector to contribute to our overall GDP”.
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In his contribution, Hon. Evans Bipi the chairman house committee on oil and gas in State House of Assembly declared that oil and national resources of a country are often considered to be national assets.
Evans said that records show that this is not a true picture in Nigeria. The wide dichotomy of oil wealth and lack of social benefits has come to be known as the oil course in Nigeria today, Health indices are poor, infant mortality, and high literacy rate and life expectancy are low.
Evans regretted that oil economy instead of enriching and developing majority of Nigerians has left the people highly to object poverty.
Nigeria he said is the world’s sixth largest oil producer and the 8th largest exporter of crude oil petroleum alone provides up to about 80% of Nigeria foreign exchange, yet the average Nigerian has became poorer as a result of years of oil doom.
According to Evans “the country now finds itself locked in regard and ethic conflicts over control of oil revenue, the social and environmental challenges have occasioned acrimonies contestations and calls for resources control true federalism, readjustment of the revenue formula any pressure other internecine.
He called on the operators and regulators of the oil and gas industry to also avail the citizen and investors alike an opportunity to ask salient questions on the challenges and the way forward on how ameliorate and or combat true feature challenges in the industry.