Desist from inviting IOCs for frivolous reasons, Lokpobiri tells n’assembly

By Abubakar Yunusa

The federal government has urged the national assembly to refrain from extending invitations to international oil companies (IOCs) and industry players for legislative hearings on frivolous grounds.

Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), made the appeal during his opening speech at the 2025 Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week  in Abuja.

On June 26, the senate committee on public accounts gave the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited a 10-day ultimatum to address queries concerning discrepancies in its audited financial statements.

The next day, the NNPC said it had uncovered an emerging coordinated sabotage campaign by a syndicate to discredit the leadership of the organisation.

According to NAN, Lokpobiri said there have been complaints in the oil and gas industry regarding “frequent summons”.

“Part of the complaints in the industry is about the frequent summons at the National Assembly, and that should be reduced,” he said.

“I was a senator for many years, we knew the consequences of some of these actions, before summoning, you need to look at the issues critically and make consultations.

“What is the business of summoning the IOCs on procurement issues that happened many years ago. They should not be summoned for frivolous reasons.”

Speaking further, the minister said Nigeria is currently producing about 1.745 million barrels of crude oil per day (bpd), with a target to hit two million bpd by the end of 2025.

Lokpobiri urged the NNPC to “change its target ambition to producing above two million barrels by 2025”.

The minister reiterated that the production target for the 2025 budget is 2.06 million bpd, adding that the country must ramp up production to hit the production target.

“We can succeed when we work together to be strong enough to deliver,” he said.

Lokpobiri noted that when he assumed office as minister in 2023, the sector had faced a 10-year gap in investments, primarily due to issues related to the legal framework and other challenges.

The minister said that since 2023, the narrative had shifted, with investments flowing into the sector due to deliberate policies, effective reforms, and a significant boost in investor confidence in Nigeria.

Speaking on the African Energy Bank (AEB), he said an advertisement had been placed for the position of its president, adding that Afreximbank and other partners would convene a shareholders’ meeting in the coming days.

Also speaking, Ekperikpe Ekpo, minister of state for petroleum resources (gas), said through the “Decade of Gas” initiative, the country was focused on translating its vast gas wealth into tangible socio-economic benefits.

Ekpo said this includes promoting industrialisation, enhancing power generation, increasing domestic usage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), advancing gas-to-transport adoption, and expanding gas export capacity.