By Augustine Okezie
Abuja
Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs.Diezani Alison Madueke, has restated that contrary to the apprehension in some quarters that the recent spate of assets divestments by international oil companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria could create crises in the oil and gas sector.
She said the exercise will actually provide opportunity for indigenous oil and gas companies to become active players in the upstream sub-sector of the industry.
In a press release signed by Mr OhiAlegbe, the group general manager, public affairs and made available to newsmen in Abuja yesterday, the minister who gave the assurance while attending an investment luncheon organized by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), on Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, explained that with the divestments indigenous oil and gas companies now have opportunity to acquire the assets being divested as springboard for the development of local capacity.
Speaking on the topic: “Assets Divestments in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry: Opportunities and Challenges”, the minister who was represented by the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Engr. Andrew Yakubu, stated that the divestments by the IOCs were creating opportunities for indigenous oil and gas companies to partake of the upstream sector of the industry and grow capacity.
“Let me allay your fears that the spate of divestments would not lead to crisis in the nation’s oil and gas industry, rather the divestment by the majors is changing the onshore corporate landscape and creating material brownfield opportunities for upstream players looking to enter the Nigerian upstream space,” Alison-Madueke noted.
She observed that the divesting IOCs were not leaving the country but only shifting their focus from onshore to the more challenging frontiers of deep offshore which currently accounts for 60% of Nigeria’s production.
“The IOCs remain very much present in Nigeria. Shell still retains ownership of 34 onshore blocks while Total, ExxonMobil, and Chevron are still committing large amounts of capital to assets offshore Nigeria,” she explained.
Highlighting the opportunities inherent in the divestment, Alison-Madueke stated: “The indigenous Nigerian companies have been presented with the opportunity to develop local operatorship capacity as well as boost local production and consequently grow into major upstream players”.