Lokpobiri charges Oando to target IOC status

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Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri has urged Oando Energy Resources Nigeria Ltd not to relent in its efforts to achieve International Oil Companies (IOCs) status, saying its acquisition of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company NAOC has clearly shown that an indigenous company can also make its marks in the international oil market.

Tribune Online reports that the acquisition of NAOC in a deal worth $783 million has positioned Oando as one of the leading indigenous players in the oil and gas industry.

Lokpobiri, who assures the Oando delegation led by its Managing Director, De Ainojie Alex Irune, of government’s support during a meeting at the NNPC Towers on Thursday in Abuja, called on the company to change the narrative between oil companies and host communities saying as an indigenous company, it can reach where some IOCs cannot go.

The Minister said he believes in the ability and capacity of the Company to do things differently and by extension work hand in hand with stakeholders to achieve the much-talked about local content.

He charged the delegation to work towards hitting the 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) saying it would go a long way in helping the government to meet its target of two million barrels per day bpd by December while adding that the government was also determined to create Nigerian international oil companies that would compete favourably with their counterparts globally.

“I know that Oando has enormous capacity in such a way that, if given the desired support, we can grow our production in a manner that would be a game changer in this country. I have always contended that the future of our oil and gas in this country lies with the members of the IPPG.

“I have always been asked at international forums whether the indigenous companies have the capacity to sustain the running of these companies. And I told them that our companies have the capacity to run them, professionally and profitably, in such a manner that the Federal Government will lose nothing.

The Minister promised to create an enabling environment in the oil and gas industry for companies to operate in Nigeria.

“My expectation is that Oando will ramp up production in these assets. If you are able to ramp up production it will help to meet the two million barrels production by the end of the year. There are enormous opportunities in the industry and we boldly tell the world that Nigeria is ready for business.”

The leader of the delegation, Dr Ainojie Irune, in his earlier remarks, informed the minister that the acquisition of NOAC assets has increased to twice the number of assets acquired from International Oil Companies in Nigeria after the ConocoPhillips acquisition in 2014.

He said that Oando’s track record, has demonstrated that Nigerian companies can competitively operate in the oil and gas adding that IOC is not a concept reserved only for companies from the West, the Far East, and the like saying Oando is ready for the challenges ahead as it wants to compete with leading IOCs in the world.

“IOC is not a concept reserved only for companies from the West, the Far East, and the like. We can breed and create our IOCs that would have sizable balance sheets, acreages across the world, and portfolios that can compete with the likes of the Aramco’s of this world, the Shell’s, Chevron, and so on. But we must start from somewhere. Oando has started this journey.

“I believe the history of the company is there to show and to prove with capacity to continue to do great things. And what we want to share with everyone today is the fact that we see a bright future, a bright future that speaks to a significant amount of improvement in the way these assets are run, a local approach to the local problems of host community and security, and a production uptake that will contribute to the overall production ambitions of the country in excess of what we have seen prior to now,” Dr Irune said.

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