Total Exploration and Production Nigeria says it is investing significantly on infrastructure development in the petroleum industry to enable it boost domestic gas supply by 300 million standard cubic feet.
Speaking during a visit to Mele Kyari, the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, managing director/chief executive officer of Total, Mike Sangster, however, bemoaned the fact that local demand for gas had been below the invested capacity.
He expressed Total’s firm belief in the Nigerian oil and gas industry and its readiness to deploy solutions to the challenges facing the industry.
“Total Nigeria will build on recent progress in many areas such as cash-call arrears and our long-standing partnership. In partnership with NNPC, the company has developed the last three Floating Production Storage Offloading Vessel (FPSO), in Nigeria and wants to build on this,” he said.
He listed the three deep offshore projects as Akpo, Usan and Egina, completed in 2009, 2012 and 2018, respectively.
He added that Total was partnering in a project for the construction of a 100-megawatt solar independent power plant in Katsina State and had also embarked on the solarisation of its service stations.
In his response, NNPC chief executive, Kyari, stated that Total Nigeria was one of the corporation’s most important partners with visible outcomes, adding that the partnership would further grow national production and reserves going forward.
“Total Nigeria in the last five years has very visible outcomes that we have seen and I assure you that we will work together to progress all efforts to grow production and national reserves.
“I also want to put on record that your downstream company has been very supportive in the supply of gasoline into our country.”
He assured the Total team of more days of very transparent and accountable relationship with frameworks that would be appreciated by all.
The Total team also visited the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva in his office in Abuja.
Speaking during the visit to the minister, Sangster disclosed that Total was undertaking some exploratory activities around existing oil fields to boost its production capacity, while advocating a partnership with the Federal Government in its quest to boot its crude oil and gas output.
He stated that the company was in the process of concluding the Final Investment Decision for the Preowei project and had recently launched the Ikike project.
He noted that Total was ready to explore for more oil and gas in Nigeria if granted licences by the government.
Sangster called for the speedy passage of the variants of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), stating that this would stimulate fresh investments in the petroleum industry.
In his response, the minister of state called on Total and other stakeholders to partner with the petroleum ministry to ensure the speedy passage of the PIB.
He promised to work with Total to achieve Nigeria’s quest of growing its crude oil and gas reserves and also boosting production.
Sylva added that the Federal Government would create an enabling environment that would encourage fresh investments in the petroleum industry and also stimulate renewed drive for crude oil exploration.
He stated that the ministry would commence with the issue of the legal framework, to help grow the industry, especially as the petroleum industry had not recorded significant growth over the years.
Olusola Bello
