*Result in loss of 70% oil production
Kunle Kalejaye
02 August 2016, Sweetcrude, Lagos — The journey to transform Nigeria’s petroleum industry which kicked off in the last six years is said to have been disrupted by forces yet to be confronted by industry operators.
Chief Executive Officer of Seplat, Austin Avuru who stated this at the Society of Petroleum Engineers, SPE annual international conference and exhibition held in Lagos said the disruption of the transformation journey has resulted in a loss of 70 percent of its crude oil production from onshore and shallow water terrains.
In addition, Avuru said some indigenous oil companies are struggling with zero oil production as well as zero revenue.
Some of the forces behind the disruption of petroleum industry transformation journey according to the Seplat boss is the emergence of new militant groups in the Niger Delta.
“The crisis in the Niger Delta has taken a toll that worry most of us because when we do not produce our companies are destroyed, jobs are destroyed, the economy is destroyed. This whole transformation which I am discussing is interrupted rudely.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t know of any real solution arising which we are looking at. But still, we are hopeful that by 2020, somehow that journey would get us to where we are going. This means, our production of natural gas and crude oil would fire this economy,” Avuru said.
Commenting on the objectives of the transformation journey, Austin Avuru said: “This industry was undergoing a major transformation a couple of years ago. We said this industry in Nigeria must move away from just being a primary revenue earner for the government to becoming an enabler for economic development.
“In the process of transforming the economy, we will energise companies like Dangote, so that we can become a net exporter of cement and fertilizer, we will deliver over 15 Gigawatts of electricity which will lead to a multiplier effect.”