Despite pressure from the West to cease investing in fossil fuels, Nigeria’s Federal Government said on Tuesday to Western countries in America and Europe that it would not stop exploring for fossil resources.
According to the PUNCH, it said that several American and European nations had been investing in fossil fuels and were requesting that Africa halt further prospecting for crude oil on the continent.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, made these revelations during a meeting in Abuja. He also said that the Federal Government was making a lot of effort to stop international oil corporations from completely withdrawing from Nigeria.
“I was fortunate enough to participate in several panels in Davos in January, where the conversation revolved around the abandonment of fossil fuels and the recommendation that people avoid investing in them,” he stated. And I reply, “Look, why don’t you start with America?” to an American official.
“America is the world’s largest oil producer; they want us to stop, yet they are increasing output. Recall that the United Kingdom granted over 100 permits for oil exploration last year, under the leadership of the current prime minister.
“This indicates that while exploration in the West is not slowing down, we are being encouraged to reduce or cease our expenditures in fossil fuels. They know that we are victims, not the cause of the situation, and that we will move through this phase at our own speed.”
The minister pointed out that although many Western nations, including Norway, were still funding the search for fossil fuels, they had been pressuring African nations to stop producing them.
“Our goal is to investigate these resources in a more sustainable and eco-friendly manner. We’re not giving up! We will receive the appropriate capital in order for us to be able to travel, and we will get the money to do so,” said Lokpobiri.
In addition, he said that in order for the nation to fulfil its duties on the international and domestic fronts, crude oil output needs to rise.
He voiced hope that, once the refineries are operational, the need for foreign currency for the import of petroleum products will decline due to Nigeria’s refineries being restored.
“I know that the majority of our foreign exchange is used to buy refined goods, but as of late, several of our own refineries have begun to undergo restoration and will be fully operational by the end of the year.
“The first phase of the Port Harcourt refinery has begun; Warri will be finished in the next two months; Kaduna will follow. Everyone will receive rehabilitation,” said the minister of petroleum.
At the worldwide conference, Lokpobiri added, emphasizing that only deep offshore operations were being undertaken by multinational oil companies, and that none of them were planning to leave Nigeria.
“No IOC is departing Nigeria, their primary destination is deep offshore. Furthermore, deep offshore is reserved to IOCs and entails billions of money, which local participants might not be able to raise,” according to Lokpobiri.
He emphasized that, in accordance with President Bola Tinubu’s direction, all divestment concerns will be settled quickly.
This occurred when the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited declared that it was just acting as a facilitator and not an agent in the IOCs’ divestment from the nation’s onshore and shallow water assets.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, clarified that NNPCL’s responsibility was to guarantee optimal and sustainable production from the sold assets in accordance with its statutory duty as the facilitator of national energy security.
Additionally, Kyari said that “The business is prepared to contribute to the planned African Energy Bank in order to secure long-term finance for energy projects in Africa and ensure energy security.”
Regarding energy infrastructure investment to promote energy security, the GCEO stated that the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben Pipeline was almost complete and that work was now being done on a tunnel under the River Niger.
He gave stakeholders confidence that the corporation will collaborate with them to reduce the country’s energy deficit and bring wealth to Nigerians, adding that all signs pointed to the country’s energy shortage challenges being resolved within the next ten years.
Prominent representatives of the business community and government attended the event, including the secretary-general of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization, Omar Farouk, the secretary-general of OPEC, Haitham al-Ghais and petroleum ministers for gas and oil amongst others.
