COVID-19: Minister hails Department of Petroleum Resources for ingenuity

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has hailed the management of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) for its ingenuity in ensuring that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic does not cripple the nation’s economy due to the crash in oil prices.

The Minister made the remarks in Lagos on Monday when he paid a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the DPR, which is the oil and gas industry regulatory agency.

“The fact that the DPR took measures to ensure that the real impact of COVID 19 on the economy of Nigeria is not felt too much, I think we must thank you on behalf of Nigerians,” he said, after he was conducted round the operational units of the agency by the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the DPR, Mr, Sarki Auwalu.

Alhaji Mohammed, who was accompanied on the visit by journalists, said despite the crash of oil prices due to the impact of the pandemic, and the cut in production by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the astuteness of the management of DPR kept Nigeria’s economy afloat.

He said beyond regulating and managing the nation’s oil and gas industry, the DPR is also engaging with oil producing communities to ensure there is sustained peace for investment to grow into fruition in the Niger Delta Region.

“What the DPR does goes far beyond technical because their engagement of the oil producing communities is very key. When we came in 2015, production had dipped because of the restiveness in the Niger Delta.

“It’s not by accident that we have some stability and modicum of peace in that area today. It’s because of the policies that have been put in place to continue to engage the communities,” the Minister said.

He also commended the DPR for the accountability it exhibits in the management of the flow of revenue to the nation, which goes straight into the Treasury Single Account, as well as utilizing technology to account for every molecule of oil and gas extracted in the country.

In his presentation, the Director and Chief Executive of DPR, Mr. Auwalu, said Nigeria would be a net export of refined petroleum products by 2022 through the combined capacity of 375,000 barrels per day from 27 modular refineries, 650,000 barrels from the Dangote refinery and the 450,000 barrels from the government refineries.

He said the agency has keyed into the diversification agenda of the Administration by providing the enabling environment and pushing for the local production of fertilizer to boost agriculture in the country.

The Director said the DPR pushed for the production of fertilizer, citing Indorama, Notore and Dangote among the companies that are now into massive production of fertilizer

“I can tell you that in the next year and half, we will be a net exporter of fertilizer because that is the bedrock of agriculture and that is what we will deliberately push to key into this government’s sense of diversification,” he said.

Mr. Auwalu said the government is also implementing a 6-billion-standard-cubic-feet gas supply per day to lay the foundation for the industrial and economic growth of the country.

He said the projects consist of the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben pipeline for 2.2 billion standard cubic feet of gas, which is near completion; the 2.2 billion standard cubic feet Escravos Lagos pipeline to power the entire South-West Geo-political Zone and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline to convey 2.2 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day.

The DPR Director took the Minister and his entourage round the National Production Management System, where the agency monitors real-time the production and transportation of crude oil vessels; the Server Room that coordinates the Integrated Digital Platforms; the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Network; and the online monitoring of marginal fields, among other platforms.