The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has said the federal government is considering the revocation of all licences given to individuals and companies that have refused to start oil exploration.
He also said the government has concluded plans to take over idle oil wells from operators holding on to them.
The minister who made this known at an event held in Lagos by The Petroleum Club, lamented that Nigeria has lost about $30 billion to low oil production in the past two and half years.
Lokpobiri disclosed that out of the over 60 companies that got approvals in the last marginal bid round, only about five had started production, saying he would not hesitate to cancel unused licences.
He said the government would no longer allow any company or individuals to hold on to licences as souvenirs, threatening to farm them out.
The minister further lamented that Nigeria was losing about 480,000 barrels of crude oil per day due to the Seplat/ExxonMobil crisis.
According to him, the asset was producing about 600,000bpd until the crisis began in 2022, saying the nation was losing millions of dollars daily.
Lokpobiri said his target was to ensure the country ramped up production through investments and grow revenue, stressing that it was in line with the mandate given to him by President Bola Tinubu.
Chairman of the Club, Austin Avuru, who said the club had invited the minister to speak on the topic, ‘Funding Our Way Out of the Current Crisis: Looking Up to the Oil and Gas Industry,’ expressed worries that the country’s production keeps depleting while the government keeps giving figures different from those of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
