The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has dismissed\u00a0insinuations in some quarters that the recent spate of divestments from\u00a0certain onshore oil blocks by some international oil csompanies (IOC) may\u00a0lead to crisis in the nation\u2019s oil and gas industry.
\nSpeaking to journalists on the margins of the ongoing World Energy\u00a0Congress in Daegu, South Korea, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian\u00a0National Petroleum Corporation, Engr. Andrew Yakubu, explained that the\u00a0reported divestments are not only healthy for the oil and gas industry in\u00a0Nigeria but would also go a long way in promoting effective indigenous\u00a0participation in core upstream activities.
\n\u201cThese are not withdrawals in the real sense of withdrawals. The fact is\u00a0that a number of these IOCs are moving into more challenging frontiers in\u00a0the deep offshore and are leaving the onshore blocks which they consider
\nless challenging,\u201d he said .
\nThe NNPC GMD noted that the major players that are divesting have actually\u00a0been sitting on those acreages and have allowed them to go fallow for\u00a0years without significant development.
\n\u201cSo it is only fair for them to release these blocks so that others,\u00a0especially the indigenous operators can have the blocks and grow in the\u00a0upstream business. This indeed is a good development and I think we are\u00a0moving in the right direction,\u201d he said.
\nThe GMD hinted that the divestment offers immense opportunities for the\u00a0nation\u2019s indigenous flagship upstream operator, the Nigerian Petroleum\u00a0Development Company (NPDC) to grow its capacity and capability especially\u00a0as it strives to meet the aggressive target of daily crude production of\u00a0250, 000 barrels by 2020.
\nEngr. Yakubu who is leading a team of Nigeria\u2019s oil and gas experts to the\u00a0global energy meet also submitted that the advent of the shale gas and oil\u00a0revolution in America for now would not have serious negative impact on\u00a0the nation\u2019s crude oil fortunes as earlier projected by some petroleum\u00a0analysts.
\n\u201cNo doubt the shale gas phenomenon poses a pushback on our oil and gas,\u00a0but the good news is that as we speak the impact is going to come a very\u00a0long time from now because a close examination of the various discoveries\u00a0of shale gas shows a huge misalignment between what was projected and the\u00a0actualization of most of the gas projects that would bring shale gas into\u00a0full maturity,\u2019\u2019 the NNPC GMD noted.
\nHe explained that though the shale gas revolution is real, its\u00a0availability in the global energy market is being hampered by high cost
\nand other infrastructural challenges thus making conventional crude oil a\u00a0cheaper energy source.
\nHe, however, stated that while the NNPC takes comfort in this development,\u00a0the Corporation is moving to activate measures to ensure that the country\u00a0is not caught napping if and when shale gas achieves the projected global\u00a0penetration.
\n\u201cOnce again, the good news in this regard is that Mr. President, through\u00a0the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs.\u00a0Diezani-Alison-Madueke, has made it clear that the maximization of our\u00a0various energy resources is central to the reforms in the oil and gas\u00a0industry. And back home we have since channeled our energy to the\u00a0development of petrochemicals, fertilizers and other gas-based industries\u00a0that would maximize the utilization of our gas resources. So far our\u00a0interactions and engagements with various global energy leaders in this\u00a0Congress have reassured us that we are moving in the right direction,\u201d\u00a0Engr. Yakubu said,\u00a0The 22nd World Energy Congress in Daegu, South Korea, which is billed to\u00a0climax on Thursday, 17th October, 2013, has in attendance over 6,000
\ndelegates from prominent energy jurisdictions across the world.
\nThe Congress which has the central theme \u201cSecuring Tomorrow\u2019s Energy\u00a0Today,\u201d is focused on the challenges posed by the globalization of energy\u00a0demand, how energy supplies can be protected against disruptions and how\u00a0efforts to mitigate climate change affect access to future energy\u00a0resources. These are summed up in the concept of the \u201cenergy trilemma\u201d by\u00a0the World Energy Council, organizers of the Congress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has dismissed\u00a0insinuations in some quarters that the recent spate of divestments from\u00a0certain onshore oil blocks by some international oil csompanies (IOC) may\u00a0lead to crisis…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n