The Ministry of Petroleum Resources has declared that it has delivered on all the Priority Project areas assigned to the Ministry by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The declaration was made by the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva at a Town Hall meeting he had with the management and staff of the Ministry on Thursday, 27th January, 2022.
Speaking at the event, Sylva stated that; “today, what we are doing is working out additional mandates, and I can assure you that in the next one and half years available to us, we will be able to deliver on the additional mandates we have devised for ourselves”.
Sylva informed the gathering that among other deliveries, the Ministry had ensured the commencement of renovation works on the refineries through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd. commencement of Train 7 project, driving the gas revolution and the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) coupled with it’s signing into the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The Minister stated that, the Upstream Commission and the Midstream/Downstream Regulatory Authority were institutions established on the back of the PIA.
Interfacing with staff, the Minister said the year 2022 promised to be very eventful because there was going to be a lot of work. He hinted that it was not a year to embark on new projects, adding that it was the beginning of a winding down period.
According to Sylva, the main concern this year was to complete all the programmes that had been initiated: He noted that the PIA implementation had commenced and is fully on course. “We have 12 months to complete our work and the process of implementation will wind down around September 2022”, he added.
On Auto Gas, the Minister affirmed that the programme had commenced and would be brought into completion this year.
He added that the rehabilitation of refineries had commenced and some aspects of the rehabilitation would be brought to completion this year.
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Nasir Sani Gwarzo, mni, described the Town Hall meeting as a milestone. Gwarzo also described the Minister as one who has so many firsts in his record. He commended the Minister for championing the struggles that birthed the PIA after being in the doldrums for 20 years.
In an address, the Director, Human Resources Management of the Ministry, Dr. Famous Eseduwo praised the Minister for responding brilliantly to the advance issues of Oil and Gas in Nigeria and the world at large. He assured the Minister of the Ministry’s backing and support to achieve the set goals of the sector.
Signed:
Enefaa Bob-Manuel
Director (Information)
MPR
