The Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) Wednesday argued that the country has all it takes to achieve 40 billion barrels oil reserves projection target by 2020 if structures are put in place and monitored.
President of the group, Mr. Abiodun Adesanya, gave the assurance in Lagos against the backdrop of government’s plans to boost oil production, saying the government Economic Recovery Plan and Growth Plan (ERPG) targets to restore oil production to 2.2 mbpd in 2017, increase it to 2.5 mbpd by 2020 is achievable if government continues with the current seriousness.
But to do that, he advised government to increase exploration activities, fearing that currently, Nigerian oil and gas industry is experiencing declining reserves owing to reduced exploration due to militancy, a situation that has caused much concern.
Explaining more on the value of the Petroleum Industry Bill, NAPE president said the association would continue to advise the government on the need to pass the bill into law.
According to him, “Stakeholders believe that as exploration and production experts in the oil and gas industry, NAPE should have made greater impact to ensure the passage of the bill into law.
“The only thing the body can do is to advice and cannot force the government to do what they have to do.
“Passage of the bill by the National Assembly would addressed all aspect of the petroleum industry’s challenges and attract investment,” Adesanya said.
