‘We’ve Dealt With The Niger Delta Issue’ – Minister

Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, and Chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) board, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said the federal government has surmounted challenges in the Niger Delta region to reach full production capability of crude oil in the country.

Kachikwu made this known while speaking at the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) 2018, and stressed “Africa with its bushes and its wildlife, remains the continent yet untapped; abundant in opportunity”.

“We’ve dealt with the Niger Delta issue. We have moved from a position where we were producing under 1 million bpd to our full capabilities, he stated.

He, however, noted that “the clean energy focus is beginning to make irrelevant the vast oil reserves many countries have”.

In his goodwill message at the summit, Dr. Maikanti Baru, the Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC opined that the after 6 decades of petroleum exploration and exploitation in Nigeria, the summit is long overdue.

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“After 6 decades of petroleum exploration and exploitation in Nigeria, this event is long overdue. However, as the popular saying goes, it is better late than never.

“African countries need to collaborate amongst each other not only in terms of oil/gas but in other key sectors. I call on all to utilize the networking opportunities towards forming strategic partnerships to better our industry and our economies,” he said.

“Fuel scarcity is a pricing related issue and the government believes it is its duty to supply the nation. We have some issues with marketers.

“We have been flooding the market. The marketers have asked that we flood the market. We have flooded the market.

“We give marketers as much as they need. If we give them more than that they will smuggle it out,” he went further to say.

President Muhammadu Buhari, represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, declared the summit opened.

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