Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — With oil and gas still powering Nigeria’s economy despite global pressure for cleaner energy, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources has warned that only accurate, dependable data can safeguard the nation’s economic future.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emeka Vitalis Obi, stressed that dependable and credible petroleum data was critical to guiding decisions in exploration, production, and the nation’s energy transition.
Obi spoke at the opening of the 60th meeting of the Consultative Committee on Petroleum Statistics, CCPS, in Abuja.
He said, “The need for dependable data to guide decisions in the sector cannot be overemphasized. Your role as a committee is vital, not only in bridging gaps within the data ecosystem but also in standardizing methodologies, validating sources, and fostering trust among both local and international stakeholders in the oil and gas industry.”
He noted that the two-day meeting, hosted by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, was reviewing data from all four quarters of 2024 and the first two quarters of 2025, with the aim of strengthening inter-agency collaboration and aligning petroleum statistics with national planning frameworks.
Dr. Obi commended the committee’s efforts to produce “accurate, timely, and credible data for national use” and urged members to “approach deliberations with purpose, share insights, and pursue actionable outcomes capable of advancing the sector.”
He described the forum as both “strategic and deep,” adding: “This is an opportunity to strengthen a data ecosystem we can all be proud of, one that upholds transparency, accountability, efficiency, and pragmatism.”
The meeting brought together key institutions including the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN; Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, and the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
A highlight of the event was the launch of the Statistical Bulletin of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Sector, 2018–2023.
Chairman of the CCPS and Director of Planning, Research and Statistics at the ministry, Mr. Usman Abdulkadir, said the committee was created to generate petroleum-related data for policy planning, academic research, and economic forecasting.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the PTDF, represented by Deputy General Manager, Strategic Planning and Documentation, Mr. Muhammad Haruna, emphasized that accurate petroleum data is essential for “informed decision-making, effective policy development, and sustainable sectoral growth.”
