The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the award of a contract of $21 million for the metering of 187 crude oil flow stations in the Niger Delta region of the country.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, stated this during a press briefing at NNPC Tower in Abuja on Friday.
According to Lokpobiri, the timeline for the completion of the project targeted at curbing crude oil theft is 180 days while adding that the metering is to properly account for the country’s oil production and export as well as ensure proper accountability and transparency in the oil and gas industry. He said it is part of the government’s commitment to properly account for ‘what we are producing and what we export’ as well as to maximise the opportunities other countries are getting through oil and gas.
The minister said that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government has been able to restore investors’ confidence in the country’s oil and gas sector as most of those who left have started coming back as a result of the global competitive environment which Nigeria has provided. He said the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has been provided with infrastructure to know what is loaded at the point of loading to the final destination, ramp up oil production and increase the revenue generation for the country.
“It is my pleasure to inform the journalists about some major developments in the Oil and gas sector. Two days ago, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting was held, presided over by Mr. President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, where we took some very bold steps to reorganize the Oil and gas sector. One of the key approvals by the Federal Executive Council has to do with awarding a contract for the metering of our 187 flow stations across the Niger Delta region of Nigeria by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, (NUPRC).
“NUPRC is the apex regulatory agency or commission for the Nigerian oil and gas upstream sector. As part of our steps to ensure that we have proper accountability, the Federal Executive Council approves the metering of all our production. We have 187 flow stations in the country, metered across the Niger Delta area, and there was a contract awarded for us to meter all the flow stations so that we’ll be able to properly account for what we produce and what we export.
“It’s a major development that has never happened in this country. This project is meant to be completed within six months, within 180 days. Nigerians must know some of the key steps that this government is taking to ensure that we maximize opportunities that other countries are getting by the availability of oil and gas in Nigeria.
“The second key issue is what we call advanced cargo. As part of the steps towards ensuring that we account for what we produce, and then Nigerians getting to get the maximum value for what we produce, the second memo that was approved by the Council has to do with what we call advanced cargo, which means we’re awarding a contract to a company that will provide the technology within 180 days, the same period, to enable us to know from the point of loading of every cargo of crude oil that’s loaded in Nigeria up to the point of destination. That’s why I call it advanced cargo.
So if from Forcados Terminal, you know, crude oil is loaded, I can stay in my office and know when it is taken off from Nigeria up to the final destination. You will agree with me about the issue of oil theft. Major steps haven’t been taken, but this is the time for us to take major steps so that we know from the beginning what we produce to the point of loading from our terminals up to the point of destination. So the Federal Executive Council also approved a memo and awarded a contract to be delivered within 180 days to provide the software also by the NUPRC, to ensure that we in Nigeria can monitor what is loaded from our terminals up to the final point of destination.
“The main objective is for us to ramp up production in our federation revenue. Remember that oil is still the fastest way we can raise the funding we need to be able to address our economic and social problems. And so one of the steps we are taking as a government, is to ensure that there is proper accountability, and that is why this program or this project was awarded to be delivered within 180 days, so that we will know when a cargo is loaded, we will monitor it through digital technologies,l up to when it is delivered at the final destination and that will our federation revenue.
“It is also to ensure that the database and the control centre are dedicated to tracking our crude oil export from the point, as I said, of loading to the final point of sales in any part of the world that our crude oil may be sold. Having said that, it’s also important to inform you that we’ve been able to bring back the confidence of the investing community.
“You recall that for the past 12 years, there has been no major investment in Nigeria. But since the inception of this administration, and since I was appointed as minister, we have been able to work very hard to rekindle the confidence of the investing community. And you will agree with me that investments have started coming in. A few weeks ago, we witnessed, you know, the signing of NNPC, Angola, you know, which was for over $2.5 billion.
“We also witnessed another signing between Total Energy and NNPC. And like I said, when we were giving account of Mr. President’s one year in office, I said, look, what we have done is to ensure that we bring back the confidence of those who have money to invest in oil and gas, that Nigeria is still the best destination to invest, and that in the next few months, we’ll be expecting major announcements, which will be in tens of billions of dollars,” Lokpobiri stated.
. TheWitness