Oscarline Onwuemenyi
18 March 2016, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has allayed fears that the current development in the global oil market would plunge oil and gas companies and financial institutions in the country into bankruptcy.
The minister maintained that Nigerian companies are resilient and would survive the plunge and volatility in the crude oil market.
Kachikwu, who was speaking at the closing ceremony of the 6th African Petroleum Congress and Exhibition (CAPE VI), in Abuja, however, stated that only companies that are willing to embrace new technologies and adopt innovation would survive the difficult operating times.
Kachikwu said that, “I think anybody who wants to survive in this climate today would need to put on the thinking cap. It is not business as usual, but people are going to survive. The nice thing about adversity is that you get to make huge successes also.
“Companies that are ready to embrace new technologies and strategies and new ways of doing things are going to survive.
“It is not going to be for too long. Nigeria, for example, has put its strategies around getting the oil companies back to full time work and we are still looking at alternative funding sources. New ideas of how to survive and how to multiply the income available to you is key to survive. I think that Nigerian companies are very resilient, they will survive,” he added.
According to him, as parts of strategies to survive, the Federal government is driving oil companies operating in the country back to full time work while also looking at alternative funding sources for some of its oil projects and partnerships.
The minister further stated that oil-producing countries as well as oil and gas companies have come to the sudden realisation that they not only need to cut cost, but also ensure the efficient management of proceeds from crude oil production and sale.
Kachikwu said, “There is a sudden realisation that not only do we need to come together to cut our costs to see how to survive in this unhealthy petroleum climate, but also that countries will need to do a whole lot more in terms of how they utilise the proceeds of production going forward.”