Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has blamed the exit of multinational companies from the country on what he described as “middlemanism.”
He stated this in Lagos at the opening of the Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Conference organised by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria.
According to the minister, one of Nigeria’s mistakes as an oil-producing nation was introducing middlemen into the oil sector.
He said international oil service giants like Schlumberger, Halliburton, McDermott, and others departed Nigeria due to the activities of middlemen in the industry.
“We have made mistakes. And I’m saying this specifically so that all African countries here today will not make the mistake that Nigeria made. When I became minister, one of the issues I was confronted with had to do with the multinational service companies all exiting Nigeria. They’ve all gone, except, maybe this Italian company, Saipem. That was the only one that was around. So, we had a situation where there was a monopoly.
“The other big boys—the Schlumberger, Halliburton, the McDermotts—all of them have gone. All of you here in PETAN have your good days in these companies. That was where you started from. That was where you actually developed your capacity,” Lokpobiri said.
Lokpobiri warned other African countries to avoid the same mistake.
The minister pointed out that the space is big enough to accommodate everybody as the country has offshore, shallow water, and deep water, which he said is beyond the capacity of PETAN members.
“Nigeria is the leading oil and gas producer in Africa. We will continue to do so. Because we have developed an enormous capacity. That didn’t happen by accident, but by deliberate commitment on the part of PETAN members, deliberate commitment on the part of the government,” the minister stated.
The oil minister maintained that the offices of some PETAN members are bigger than the offices of these international service companies, but that does not mean they can do what the service companies do, hence the need to coexist.
Lokpobiri stressed that the middlemen issues impacted the cost of production borne by the Federal Government before the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited shares oil proceeds with other oil companies it is in a joint venture with.
