The Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, has stated that only proper fiscal framework can facilitate and accelerate new oil field licensing round bid in the country.
Kyari said without legal framework, bid rounds may not work, adding that the industry is moving ahead for opportunity to close the issues around Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
He said the industry has not properly monetized resources in the last 15 years despite various government interventions and that currently, it is only the NNPC that has sustainably proceeded with exploration activities and building reserves.
According to him there are a lot of unexplainable activities going on in the oil and gas industry and the experiences of the challenges of Covid-19 made it possible for NNPC to take a look at some services that they can discard.
Kyari said the time has come to infuse cost discipline, shade operational inefficiency and refocus only on projects that are revenue driven.
“We will do away with inherent inefficiency and deploy technology to reduce cost” he said.
On Marginal Field, he denied insinuations that government was just keen at raising money through the process.
He said the whole idea was to stimulate and energize local industries, create job opportunities and sustain indigenous operations.
“Government is determined to continue with the process because the fields have been dormant for between 30 to 40 years,” he said.
