The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, on Wednesday maintained that the federal government will continue to support more oil sector divestments, facilitate easy exit for International Oil Companies (IOCs) when necessary, as well as accelerate repatriation of funds to their home countries.
Speaking in Abuja when the new management of Renaissance Africa Energy Company (formerly Shell), led by its Chief Executive, Tony Attah, paid him a visit, the minister explained that the Bola Tinubu administration believes that divestment is a global practice.
The minister stressed that as Nigeria continues to solicit for more foreign investments, the clear message is that businesses can invest and also divest at will, noting that Nigeria cannot be an exception to what takes place seamlessly in other climes.
He stated that it was the reason he facilitated the completion of all pending divestment applications when he was appointed to head the ministry of petroleum, in direct compliance with the president’s directive.
“So, when I became minister, we had several divestment issues. Some of them had been there for years. And my position was very clear. I said, divestment is a global practice. If you want to attract investments, you must also allow people to divest when they want to.
“I’m proud to say that under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, these divestments that were (pending) were basically one of the obstacles to the flow of investment. We consented to them and the president personally signed those divestments. That is the evidence of leadership. Leadership is not just by mouth, it’s by action,” Lokpobiri pointed out.
As minister who is directly overseeing the petroleum sector, Lokpobiri stated that Tinubu directed his office to ensure that all the divestments were accelerated, noting that today, the situation that prevailed hitherto, no longer exists.
“And today, if people want to invest, that question is no more there whether Nigeria is an investment destination where you can come and invest and also divest. But it was a major issue in 2023 when I went with the president to New York.
“And that’s when the transaction was stalled. The president gave me a very clear directive. I had to go back and to make sure that this matter was sorted. Today, the matter is sorted, so that question is no more,” the minister said.
He also gave a vote of confidence to the capacity of the human resource within Nigeria’s oil sector to perform and exceed expectations, arguing that all the IOCs, including Shell, ExxonMobil, Agip and others, were built by Nigerians.
According to him, the question of whether the oil industry will survive, given the recent divestments does not exist, expressing the hope that indeed local companies that are taking over will actually do much better.
“My conviction is that Nigerians will benefit more. Decisions will no longer be taken abroad. If anything happens to any pipeline, they have to wait for the headquarters to make the decision. Right now, once anything happens, the decisions will be taken in Lagos, or in Abuja. So you don’t need to wait for anybody to make those decisions for things to be fixed,” he stated.
Besides, the minister maintained that monies will be retained in-country, with the takeover of indigenous firms, since there will be no need to repatriate revenues or dividends and urged Nigerian oil and gas companies to take the lead and truly play their role as leaders in Africa.
“In oil and gas, no country in Africa can be compared to Nigeria in terms of human capacity building. There’s no country where you have the same level of manpower as we have in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria. And there are lots of opportunities.
“Having acquired the almighty Shell, the expectations are also very high. Nigerians are expecting that you will within the shortest possible time visibly show the expected changes in Shell.
“We know that Shell, when they decided to divest, just like the other companies, didn’t make any investment for a while. And gladly, you must ramp up production, which we really need. And I’m aware that you have to re-enter every available well,” Lokpobiri instructed.
In his remarks, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Renaissance, Attah, who thanked the minister, noted that while not detracting from the strides of the IOC in the last 60 years, while Shell came to do business to develop its home country, Renaissance will do its own to develop Nigeria.
“Shell did its exploration, exploitation and production to develop its own countries. But we as Renaissance are here to do exactly the same business, perhaps do it better to develop our own country, Nigeria. I think for me personally that is where the delineation and difference comes in.
“Shell was a very great company. I worked for Shell for 30 years. But our objective is to do much better than Shell and to build on everything that was positive that Shell is known for.
“But our ambition goes beyond Nigeria which is why we are Renaissance Africa Energy Company. And consistent with our vision, we are here to become the African leader in energy straight out of Nigeria,” Attah assured.
Emmanuel Addeh
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