Petroleum minister pledges close ties with national assembly

From ODIMMEGWA JOHNPETER, Abuja

THE Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has expressed his readiness to work closely with the National Assembly to ensure speedy growth and development of the Nigerian Oil and Gas sector for the benefit of Nigerians and the entire country.
Dr. Kachikwu made this disclosure during an interactive session with members of the National Assembly in Abuja.
In a presentation titled: ‘The Roadmap for Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector,’ Dr. Kachikwu noted that the average national oil production as at July 2015 stood at 2.1 million barrels per day and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) equity production is 99,000 barrels per day.
He said the declining Joint Venture reserves were due to inadequate and low investment in the oil assets, stressing that the issue of funding constraints must be addressed going forward with the collaboration of private and international investors.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources informed that the average gas to power generation is about 3,000 megawatts and domestic gas supply of one billion standard cubic feet (scf) with the contribution of 600 million standard cubic feet from NPDC.
On the current state of the refineries, Dr. Kachikwu stated that from the available reports before him, two of the refineries may be re-streamed before the end of December, 2015 adding that efforts are on to engage private investors to build new refineries within the old ones to enable the refineries share power, pipelines and other resources.
He stressed that the new agenda for the Oil and Gas Industry is centered on having the right people, doing the right things, at the right time, for the right purpose to yield the right results.
Dr. Kachikwu stated that the Petroleum Sector under his watch would ensure that the Nigeria Content policy would transform the Oil and Gas industry into the economic engine for job creation and national growth.
Dr. Kachikwu said he was obliged to cancel the Offshore Processing Agreements (OPAs), crude-for-products-exchange arrangement (popularly known swap) and other unprofitable product and crude arrangements all in a bid to avoid rent seekers and add value to the Nigerian hydrocarbon resources.
On the downstream sector, Dr. Kachikwu advocates for the introduction of a private sector model that would reinvigorate the efficient supply and distribution of petroleum products especially in the area of pipeline assets.
Dr. Kachikwu said the menace of pipeline vandalism has led to huge losses of crude and petroleum products adding that 27, 967 incidents of pipeline vandalism were recorded in the last few years. He noted that unutilized pipelines and poor pipeline integrity also led to high cost of trucking and impact on the roads.
Speaking on the current fuel situation, the House Committee Chairman on Petroleum Downstream, Honourable Joseph Akinlaja urged the Minister and his team to ensure a seamless flow of premium motor spirit otherwise known as petrol during the yuletide.
On his part, the House Committee Chairman on Gas Resources, Hon. Agbedi Frederick thanked the Minister for his presentation and assured him of the readiness of the National Assembly to support the Federal Government in its drive to transform the Oil and Gas Sector.