Chief Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, has urged domestic and foreign oil corporations to work with the Federal Government to address energy poverty in the nation. While giving a speech during the opening of the TotalEnergies Okike Oil Field in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Sylva made the call.
In a statement released on Friday by his Senior Adviser (Media and Communications), Mr. Horatius Egua, Sylva said that Nigeria could only satisfy the nation’s expanding energy needs through cooperation with the private sector.
Sylva encouraged other operators, whether domestic or foreign oil corporations, to follow TotalEnergies’ lead in working with Nigeria to accomplish energy transformation and freedom from energy poverty in his capacity as Mr. Kamoru Busari, Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry.
He said that the ministry’s primary responsibility was to boost crude oil production from the current meager 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to three million BPD.
The 50,000 BPD from TotalEnergies Okike Oil Field, he continued, would undoubtedly make a significant contribution to fulfilling this commitment.
The 50,000 BPD from the Okike oilfield, he added, would help Nigeria’s effort to surpass the three million BPD Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) threshold.
As the effort to achieve net-zero omission by 2060 continues, Sylva gave the assurance that the Federal Government would encourage investors in the sector for the overall benefit of Nigerians.
The minister claimed that the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill into law demonstrated the government’s commitment to fostering expansion and financial infusions into the oil and gas industry.
