Peter Uzoho

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has toured TotalEnergies’ Ofon and Egina offshore fields in his one-day familiarisation visit to the French company’s assets, reaffirming the desire of the federal government to increase investments in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
The visit, according to a statement made available to THISDAY, was intended to intimate the minister with TotalEnergies’ investment plans, ongoing projects and challenges faced by the company in the areas of capex and community relations.
In his remarks at the end of the tour, Lokpobiri, who was received by top management of TotalEnergies led by its Managing Director, Mr. Matthieu Bouyer and the Deputy Managing Director (Deepwater Asset), Mr. Victor Bandele, among others, commended the company for being a shining example of what the federal government expects from international oil companies (IOCs).
“The federal government is very desirous to increase investment in the oil and gas sector to boost its production level. So, I must commend TotalEnegies for being a shining example of what the federal government expects from IOCs. So let us work together and see how we can improve the sector and continue to do what we can to support your company for our mutual benefit,” Lokpobiri stated.
The minister, however, noted that the government was not unmindful of the problems being faced by the IOCs and would take the necessary steps to address their challenges.
 “Let’s have a meeting, see where the problems are and arrive at a win-win situation. 
“We are not trying to give problems to anybody, it’s going to be a win-win approach because government is not unreasonable to people’s problems,” he added.
Thanking the minister for the visit, the Managing Director of TotalEnergies, Bouyer, said his organisation was ready to partner the federal government in achieving its objectives of boosting production levels through the implementation of the various new projects lined up by the company.
He stated that these projects which are tied-back to existing fields will not only increase production but also bring more revenue to the federal government.

​