The increasing divestment by the international oil companies (IOCs) from the country has now become a source of worry to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, a very vocal pressure group in the oil and gas industry.
The union has therefore urged the Federal Government to provide incentives to enable them remain in the country.
They called on President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the country’s Minister of Petroleum should take steps to check the presence and activities of portfolio and briefcase investors in the oil and gas sector whose sole aim it claimed was to milk the country without adding value.
PENGASSAN in a statement jointly signed by its President, Festus Osifo and the General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, observed that the IOCs’ divestment started in 2012 and spread quickly within the industry, resulting in the reduction of the fortunes of developments within the oil and gas fields.
The association said that while it is not averse to indigenous participation in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, it would not fold its arms and allow mediocre persons to take hold of national assets and ruin the fortunes of future generations for immediate gains.
It stated: “It is on record that since IOCs started divestment in 2012; most of the companies that purchased such assets do not have and cannot attract the requisite finances for capital expenditures in such fields or have made reasonable efforts to provide the required human and technical developments of Nigerians in their establishment.”
Most of these companies practically draw from the existing wells until it is dried up. They do not substantially if at all invest in work over operations or drilling of new wells, it stated.
It advised the government to make concerted efforts to persuade and provide more incentives to the IOCs to remain in the country to benefit from the newly passed Petroleum Industry Act (PIA)
“However, should they decide to exit after all efforts fail, a good investor that has relevant technical experience, good financial standing, and reputation for managing employees must be sort after,” the group stated.
