The National Assembly has thrown its weight behind NNPC Limited’s ongoing efforts to boost Nigeria’s crude oil production and grow its reserves, saying it will consider stiffer consequences for crude oil thieves and vandals of the nation’s critical hydrocarbon infrastructure.
This was made known when the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) paid an oversight visit to the NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS), an upstream arm of NNPC Ltd., at its headquarters in Lagos on Tuesday.
Senator Eteng Jonah Williams and Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, the joint chairmen of both chambers, led the legislators’ visit, saying crude oil theft and vandalism of critical oil and gas infrastructure pose major challenges to Nigeria’s revenue generation and budget targets posed by
In a statement by Mr. Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd., on Tuesday, Sen. Williams said it was imperative for the National Assembly to come up with legislative action that will help stop crude oil theft and increase Nigeria’s crude oil production.
He said that from what they found at NUIMS, it is duty-bound on the legislature to come up with decisive measures that will help the government achieve its set targets in the oil and gas sector.
On his part, Hon. Alhassan Doguwa said that, by virtue of their duties as a legislature, the lawmakers will fast-track the strengthening of a legislative framework to be able to check the excesses bedevilling the nation’s oil and gas sector.
Doguwa, who commended NNPC Ltd.’s efforts for its industry-wide security collaboration against the nation’s hydrocarbon infrastructure, said more needs to be done to ensure the company increases Nigeria’s crude oil production and grows its reserves.
He said the legislature will consider deploying the stick and carrot approach towards addressing the issue, but where it becomes necessary, the stick approach must be emphasised to rise vehemently against any encumbrance standing in the way of Nigeria’s economic growth and development.
Earlier in his detailed presentation to the lawmakers, the Chief Upstream Investment Officer (CUIO) of NNPC Ltd., Mr. Bala Wunti, described NUIMS as a trustee of Nigeria’s upstream investments, which ensures the country maximises returns through effective supervision of its Joint Venture (JV), Production Sharing Contracts (PSC), and Service Contracts (SC) operating partners.
Wunti, who commended the lawmakers for their consistent support of the NNPC Ltd., said engagements with the National Assembly are crucial as they will help the NNPC Ltd. in the attainment of its mandate.
“We are here to see how the NASS will help us produce more barrels and deliver value to our shareholders. Increasing production is the new narrative, and your support is needed to enable us to achieve our set targets based on our key principles of safety, speed, compliance, and efficiency,” Wunti informed the legislators.
He said so far, the industry-wide security collaboration against crude oil theft and vandalism of Nigeria’s critical hydrocarbon infrastructure through the four-way strategy of “Detect, Deter, Respond, and Recover” has been instrumental in the recent restoration of some of the nation’s lost barrels.
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