FG assures stakeholders of commitment to remove bottlenecks in oil production

The Federal Government of Nigeria has assured stakeholders in the oil and gas industry of its commitment to remove bottlenecks in the industry.

The Minister for State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri gave the assurance on Thursday when the leadership of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) and the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) paid him a courtesy visit.

A statement by Dr. Lokpobiri’s media aide, Nneamaka Okafor, explained that the visit was in line with the Minister’s ongoing engagement with agencies, commissions and other stakeholders of the ministry.

Reacting to issues earlier raised by the oil companies concerning operating environment in the Niger Delta region and divestments by International Oil Companies, IOCs, the Minister said: “I want to assure you that we have the capacity to resolve whatever issues that exist or may arise in the future and together we can achieve a better sector in the interest of our country.”

He identified them as critical stakeholders in the industry, expressing appreciation for their readiness to work with him in line with the President’s objective of increasing the nation’s oil production.

The team of IPPG and OPTS was made of the management of member companies led by the IPPG President and Group CEO of Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited, Abdulrazaq Isa and the Executive Director of OPTS, Gwueke Ajaifia.

Current oil production figures show that Nigeria produced 1.18 million barrels per day last month against OPEC quota of 1.7mbpd and 1.69mbpd set in this year’s budget.