Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, warned that he would revoke oil block licenses from owners who have not developed their holdings.
This comes as the Federal Government urges international oil companies active in Nigeria to increase their investments in the nation’s oil and gas industry, highlighting that the present government has offered all requisite incentives to guarantee smooth and lucrative operations.
Given the federal government’s aim to achieve a production level of 2.06 million barrels daily by 2025, Lokpobiri mentioned that authorities will initiate the ” drill or drop” clauses within the Petroleum Industry Act as part of their efforts to increase oil output.
In February 2025, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission reported an oil production level of 1.67 million barrels daily.
The media assistant for the minister, Nneamaka Okafor, stated on Tuesday that Senator Lokpobiri cautioned about revoking licenses during a Cross Industry Group conference in Florence, Italy. This gathering was organized by international oil companies active in Nigeria.
The discussions centered around the difficulties, anticipations, and plans aimed at boosting the sector’s role in fulfilling local energy demands and expanding regionally throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.
As stated by the minister, “It’s unacceptable to leave resources unused for periods ranging from 20 to 30 years without any progress. When an asset isn’t being utilized and stays undeveloped over such extensive durations, it fails to contribute positively to our financial records or benefit the nation as a whole.”
We urge sector participants to consider cooperative approaches including pooled resources for adjacent holdings, farm-out arrangements, and making underused assets available to operators prepared to commit to production activities. If this does not occur, similar to all prudent governments, we will reclaim these assets and assign them to entities eager to engage in productive efforts.
The minister additionally encouraged operators to look into farm-out arrangements for assets situated near existing infrastructure instead of bearing substantial expenses on new floating production storage and offloading facilities.
The minister encouraged the operators to increase their investments in the oil and gas sector.
He mentioned that although IOCs have identified engineering, procurement, and construction contractors as an issue, these EPCs will only pledge their commitment once they observe robust investment choices being made by sector participants.
He stated, “The government has fulfilled its role by implementing necessary and investor-friendly financial policies, such as the president’s executive order encouraging deepwater investments. It is now up to the Independent Oil Companies (IOCs) and other operators to make crucial investment choices that can boost production levels and ensure long-term stability within the industry.”
He emphasised the need for IOCs to support local refining efforts, noting that more refineries are coming upstream and will require a steady supply of crude oil.
To simplify this process and achieve success, he emphasized that increasing production would allow Nigeria to fulfill both domestic and global commitments.
At the gathering, Mr. Osagie Osunbor, who leads the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), praised the Minister for directly interacting with stakeholders in the industry and for the federal government’s ongoing initiatives aimed at progressing this sector.
“We value the government’s dedication to fostering an attractive climate for investments. The minister’s involvement has offered essential perspectives and has equally pushed us within the industry to enhance our endeavors towards boosting production,” he remarked.
In the meantime, according to a Bloomberg report, Nigeria implemented the largest reduction in oil production amongst OPEC member countries during March, cutting back by 50,000 barrels per day.
The nation reduced output to sustain an average of 1.5 million barrels daily, consistent with its OPEC allocation, following the organization’s call for stricter limits among member states.
Based on a Bloomberg poll, OPEC cut total output by 110,000 barrels per day in March.
The statement also noted that Iraq had the second-highest decrease following Nigeria, reducing production by 40,000 barrels per day to reach 4.15 million barrels. Nonetheless, Iraq stayed above its agreed-upon daily output level of 4 million barrels.
Nevertheless, the United Arab Emirates ramped up production by an additional 30,000 barrels per day, thereby surpassing its allocated limit even more.
In the meantime, OPEC+, headed by Saudi Arabia and Russia, has shown willingness to progressively reinstate production levels and boost supply to help stabilize worldwide oil prices.
The group is expected to add roughly 138,000 barrels per day this month as part of a phased increase running through late 2026.
The report indicated that Nigeria’s reduced output stems from delays in loading Bonny Light crude caused by the recent blast at the Trans-Niger Pipeline.
The pipeline, essential for Nigeria’s crude oil exports, has often experienced operational interruptions, impacting the nation’s capacity to achieve its production goals.
Provided by Syndigate Media Inc. (
Syndigate.info
).