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…hails Lokpobiri’s appointment
From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
Rehoboth Media Limited has commended President Bola Tinubu’s administration for what it described as increased stability, production and investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rehoboth Media Consultants, Abuja, Susie Ogun, spoke after a media interaction between the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and selected journalists from the Niger Delta region at the Bayelsa State Government House.
Ogun also praised Tinubu for appointing Lokpobiri, describing the minister’s performance as a major factor in the developments recorded in the sector.
“President Tinubu made the right choice by appointing Senator Heineken Lokpobiri as his Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil). His performance has positioned Nigeria as one of the global oil and gas destinations and an investment-ready country,” she said.
She said the investments and activities in the oil and gas industry were having significant impact on the economy, urging the President and the minister to sustain the momentum.
Speaking during the interaction, Lokpobiri said the Tinubu administration had taken difficult decisions and introduced measures that were gradually restoring activities and investment in the petroleum sector.
He recalled that Nigeria’s crude oil production was below one million barrels per day of crude and condensate when the administration assumed office in 2023.
“Hopefully, as of the last report, we are doing 1,824,000 barrels a day, inclusive of condensate. That is over 80 per cent from where we started in 2023,” he said.
The minister attributed the increase to what he described as committed efforts by the government and stakeholders.
He also disclosed that the number of active oil rigs had risen from fewer than 10 when the administration assumed office to more than 70 currently.
“When this government came, we had about 10 active rigs in the country. These rigs are the ones that drill new oil wells. All the oil wells we are producing today were drilled in the 60s and 70s.
“As of today, we have over 70 active rigs. That shows activity. That shows enormous activity and investment going on in the oil and gas sector,” he said.
Lokpobiri further cited investments by major international oil companies, including Shell and ExxonMobil, as well as projects such as Bonga North, Bonga Southwest and Zabazaba.
He said indigenous companies had also increased their contribution to Nigeria’s oil production.
According to him, international oil companies previously accounted for about 90 per cent of the country’s oil production, while Nigerian companies now account for about 60 per cent of local production.
The minister also dismissed allegations that proceeds from fuel subsidy removal were not being properly utilised.
He said monthly allocations by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) had risen from less than N600 billion before the Tinubu administration to over N2 trillion.
“Today we are sharing over N2 trillion. And that is why the 27 states that couldn’t pay salaries before this government came can now comfortably pay salaries and pensions and then execute capital projects,” he said.
Lokpobiri explained that the proceeds from subsidy removal were shared among the Federal, state and local governments, stressing that the respective tiers should be held accountable for the use of the funds.
He said the Federal Government’s share had been deployed to programmes including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), compressed natural gas (CNG) initiatives and clean cooking programmes.
“The subsidy removal money is shared among three tiers of government. The one that is available at the federal level is used to finance social investment,” he added.
