The Minister of States for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, says the Federal Government has nothing to lose even as international oil companies are divesting.
Lokpobiri, who spoke at the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board’s PNC conference in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, said the country has nothing to be afraid of as a result of the divestments.
According to him, the IOCs were not leaving the country but relocating from onshore to offshore.Lokpobiri explained that the assets vacated by the IOCs are being taken over by local operators.
“I can stand here proudly to tell you that we are experiencing divestments from onshore and shallow waters by IOCs, but Nigeria has got nothing to lose, we have royalties to taxes from the quality of services that we deliver to guarantee sustainability in our growth.
“Nigeria has nothing to fear, and that is predicated on the successes we have achieved over the past decade as far as local content development is concerned.
“These divestments are not acquired by foreigners, they are acquired by local communities. That underscores the level of achievement and the level of development we have achieved, as far as local capacity building is concerned.”
