Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has tasked a newly formed committee with resolving domestic crude supply challenges within five days.
This directive follows discussions addressing misunderstandings regarding the Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligations (DCSO) among international and indigenous oil companies. Speaking during a meeting with representatives from the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) and the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), in Abuja on Thursday Lokpobiri emphasised the government’s commitment to local refining and fostering a competitive business environment in the oil sector.
He said that the meeting reached some agreements on the operationality of the DCSO except for a few grey areas.
“At the end of the day, we’ve been able to agree, except for one or two grey areas. And so what we have resolved is that there should be a small committee headed by the permanent secretary that will look at the matter between Monday and Tuesday, and then report back to me.
Giving a background to the meeting, the minister said, “There seems to be some misunderstanding of a regulation made by NUPRC that has to do with domestic crude oil supply obligations by oil companies. And, as part of our policy here in the ministry, whenever we see that there is a seeming misunderstanding, we bring parties together with a view to, building consensus, resolving whatever misunderstandings that parties may have.”He expressed optimism about reaching a consensus on outstanding issues, reiterating that all stakeholders are dedicated to fulfilling their obligations under the Petroleum Industry Act.
Recall that Dangote Refinery and other indigenous refiners have raised concerns about the lack of domestic crude oil supply.The IPPG, an association of Nigerian indigenous upstream exploration and production companies, had earlier called on President Bola Tinubu to consider declaring a state of emergency on crude oil production in Nigeria due to the ongoing issues.The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has also taken steps to enforce the domestic crude oil supply obligations, as outlined in the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 (PIA). The Commission Chief Executive, Engr Gbenga Komolafe, had earlier directed the enforcement committee to develop a template for the seamless implementation of the Domestic Crude Oil Supply Obligation (DCSO) within 48 hours.As Nigeria’s grapples raising oil production, the meeting between Lokpobiri, OPTS, and IPPG is crucial in finding solutions to the challenges facing the industry and ensuring adequate crude oil supply to domestic refineries.
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