Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to sustaining incentives that will keep the country attractive to both local and foreign investors in the oil and gas sector.
Speaking during an inspection tour of the NNPCL/Chevron Joint Venture Escravos Gas-to-Liquids (EGTL) facility in Delta State, Lokpobiri called on operators to scale up investments and boost production in order to meet domestic energy needs while fulfilling international supply obligations.
He emphasized that although fossil fuels will continue to play a vital role in the global energy mix for years to come, Nigeria remains focused on promoting cleaner and greener exploration practices. He described the EGTL plant as a model project that not only reduces carbon emissions but also drives economic growth and development.
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Commending Chevron and the NNPCL for their partnership, the Minister urged other industry players to maximize their assets by either ramping up operations or farming out idle fields to investors with the technical and financial capacity to put them to productive use.
Lokpobiri further reminded operators of the “drill or drop” provision of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), stressing that the government reserves the right to enforce compliance in order to optimize Nigeria’s petroleum resources responsibly.
He reaffirmed President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda as the driving force behind current reforms, assuring stakeholders that government policies will continue to balance economic growth, investor confidence, and environmental sustainability.
Alongside Lokpobiri on the inspection tour at the NNPCL/Chevron JV EGTL facility at Escravos, Delta State included the Chairman/MD of Chevron; Jim Schatz, the Director of NNPC/CNL JV; Segun Kuteyi and others.
