The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has cautioned that oil blocks could be revoked from owners who fail to develop them.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government is calling on international oil companies in Nigeria to boost investments in the oil and gas sector, emphasizing that the administration has provided all necessary incentives for seamless and profitable operations.
With a production target of 2.06 million barrels per day set for 2025, Lokpobiri stated that the government will enforce the “drill or drop” provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act to boost oil production.
In February 2025, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission reported oil production at 1.67 million barrels per day.
On Tuesday, the minister’s media aide, Nneamaka Okafor, stated that Senator Heineken Lokpobiri warned of potential license revocations during a Cross Industry Group meeting in Florence, Italy. The meeting, hosted by international oil companies in Nigeria, focused on tackling challenges, setting expectations, and developing strategies to strengthen the sector’s contribution to domestic energy needs and regional expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The minister stressed, Assets cannot remain idle for 20 to 30 years without development. If an asset stays underutilized for decades, it adds no value neither to your records nor to the nation.
We call on industry players to explore collaborative options like sharing resources for neighboring assets, farm-outs, and releasing underutilized assets to operators willing to invest in production. Otherwise, as any responsible government would, we will take back these assets and allocate them to those ready to act,the minister remarked. He also urged operators to consider farm-out agreements for assets close to existing infrastructure, instead of bearing the high costs of new floating production storage and offloading units.
The minister called on operators to boost investment in the oil and gas industry. He pointed out that while international oil companies (IOCs) have identified engineering, procurement, and construction contractors as a challenge, EPCs will only participate when they see firm investment commitments from industry players.
He said, the government has done its part by providing the essential, investment-friendly fiscal policies, including the president’s executive order promoting deepwater investments. Now, the responsibility lies with the IOCs and other operators to make strategic investment decisions that will boost production and ensure the sector’s sustainability.
He stressed the importance of IOCs supporting local refining initiatives, pointing out that with more refineries being developed upstream, there will be a need for a consistent supply of crude oil.
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