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Government to revive moribund oil and gas facilities to enhance capacity, curb poverty: DPR

*The Department of Petroleum Resources, in Nigeria, restates its commitment to rehabilitating oil and gas support fabrication facilities that have not been operational since 2015 due to contractual issues

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

As part of the Federal Government’s efforts at raising domestic refining capacity and gas utilisation to curb unemployment and poverty, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), has said the government is committed to reactivating all dilapidated oil and gas support facilities in Nigeria.

Mr. Sarki Auwalu, Director of Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), stated this Monday during an assessment visit to Kaztec Engineering Limited Fabrication Yard, Ilase Village, on Snake Island, in Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State.

According to the DPR Director, the measure is part of the government’s effort at enhancing domestic refining capacity and gas utilisation so as to reduce unemployment and poverty in the country, agency report said.

He expressed dissatisfaction that the fabrication yard facility, which was licensed to provide oil and gas services support by the DPR, had not been operational since 2015 due to contractual issues.

Some of the critical equipment in the facility are currently owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), but were not being utilised for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians, said Auwalu.

He noted: “The industry depends on facilities like this to actualise their investment because it is like a support system for the oil and gas sector.

“Our visit here is to see an edifice that we licensed and it is dormant, but we are going to make it active because we see it as an opportunity to grow the oil and gas industry.”

The DPR helmsman stated: “We have seen an opportunity we can use to support our gas utilisation, penetration and expansion programme.

“We have issued several licenses for modular refineries that need fabrications. We cannot allow this kind of facility to remain under-utilised.

He also pointed out that some of the fabrication jobs that could be done at the facility were being shipped to China, a development which was not good for the Nigerian economy.

Plans are also ongoing to double the contribution of the oil and gas sector to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to about 15 percent from the current eight percent.

Earlier, Mr. Mike Simpson, Engineering Director, Kaztec Engineering Limited, said the facility became dormant in 2015 after its main contractor, Addax Petroleum, declared a force majeure on its operations.

According to him, when it was operational, the facility had 2,000 direct employees and 7,000 indirect employees which had a direct impact on the host community and its environs.

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