Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Petroleum) Heineken Lokpobiri said on Thursday that Nigeria’s oil reserves have not increased because there has been no exploration activity in the country for many years.
Mr Lokpobili disclosed this when Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State paid a courtesy call on the minister on Thursday.
“In recent years, Nigeria hasn’t really done much exploration. That’s why reserves haven’t increased,” Lokpobiri said.
“Our reserves are about 37 billion barrels. Our reserves should be twice that. The reason we haven’t been able to break records is because there hasn’t been much exploration done in the last 12 years. is.”
He said tapping into the country’s oil and gas resources is the easiest way out of the economic hardship it is currently experiencing.
He added that as the world moves towards phasing out fossil fuels, it has become necessary for Nigeria to increase oil production.
He said Nigeria’s oil production is around 2.4 million barrels per day with no new investment during the coronavirus era, and there is an urgent need to address concerns currently affecting the country’s oil production. he pointed out.
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“That well is still there. So once we address the safety concerns, other concerns and evacuation issues, we could easily go back to 2.4 million barrels a day,” he said.
He also promised that the government would partner with Kogi State through the Frontier Exploration Fund to carry out exploration activities.
“What I want to say is that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, in partnership with the Kogi State Government, will utilize the Frontier Exploration Fund to enable us to do the necessary exploration and we will not give up until we achieve that.” The reason is that the easiest way to get out of this country’s economic problems is through the oil and gas sector, and Nigeria, including Kogi, has a rich oil and gas sector.
“What we have to do is make the right investments so that we can take this God-given deposit, God-given resource and bring it to market. What’s important about oil and gas? “Before there is value, you have to get it out of the ground and into the market. And to get it out of the ground, you have to make the right investments, and those investments are already being made.” he said.
In his remarks, Mr. Ododo noted that the natural resources in the state remained untapped for many years and called for the support of the ministry to harness the potential natural resources of the state.
“We need your support. We need your guidance.” “We need your support. We need your guidance.” We want to unleash sexuality. We are blessed with a lot of resources, but they are not serving the state to its full potential,” he said.
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He noted that despite the discovery of commercial quantities of crude oil in Kogi, the state does not enjoy the 13% crude derivation and other benefits accorded to other oil-producing states in the country. I lamented.
He said Kogi is the north-south confluence of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline, offering great advantages for thriving oil and gas investments.
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