The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative,has said that Nigeria is ignorant of the actual volume of crude oil it produces,especially at the deep offshore fields.
Orji Ogbonnaya-Orji, the Executive Secretary, NEITI, Orji Ogbonnaya-Orji, who disclosed this in Abuja during a courtesy call on the Director-General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Mansur Liman,said the exact amount of crude oil produced in Nigeria had remained unknown because of the absence of meters at wellheads and the lack of capacity to monitor deep offshore fields.
He said that his agency had in all its oil and gas audit reports recommended that meters be placed on oil wellheads to measure the volume of crude oil produced across the country.
According to him: “We do not have capacity to go deep shores to know how much we are producing. As we speak, it is very difficult for any Nigerian to ascertain how much we are actually producing.This is one of the challenges that NEITI is dealing with. Because if you do not know how much you are producing how would you know how much you are expected to earn?”
He said companies that go deep shore that are involved on offshore exploration, none of them are indigenous Nigerian companies and they cannot really protect the interest of the country as much as Nigerians can.
“But we must concede to those companies, they are doing a great job here because without them there will be no oil industry.”
He described his visit to FRCN as a home coming, having worked there as a journalist for many years.
Meanwhile ,the Department of Petroleum Resources has said over 43 cases in the Nigerian oil and gas industry are waiting to be looked into by the newly inaugurated Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre.
Its Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr Sarki Auwalu, said the agency had noted the several oil and gas-related disputes currently pending before Nigerian and international courts and tribunals.
“These disputes usually take a considerable amount of time and cost to resolve. A typical dispute in court runs for a significant period prior to the rendering of a final judgement which may not be to the satisfaction of any of the parties,” he said on Thursday at the flag-off of the ADRC in Lagos.
He said in certain instances, court judgements and even arbitral awards do not adequately resolve disputes in a manner consistent with the regulatory and commercial interests of the industry.
He said the establishment of the centre would ensure the settlement of disputes through the use of industry experts with in-depth understanding of the issues before them for quick resolutions, all in the overall interest of industry players, stakeholders and the nation.
“The ADRC has started operations,” he said, adding that the agency had to inaugurate the centre, the Advisory Council and the Body of Neutrals ‘because we have a lot of cases’.
“Right from January 21 when the president commissioned NOGEC, which ADRC is part of, we received so many requests; we have over 43 cases now awaiting for the centre to really look into, and with this, we believe many more cases will be referred to the ADRC for mediation and arbitration,” Auwalu added.
According to him, the establishment of the ADRC is also expected to boost investors’ confidence by easing the cost of doing business, reducing capital flight occasioned by expensive out-of-country court and arbitration proceedings, and build competence and capacity in Nigerians by accrediting them to become ADR professionals.
The DPR said the advisory council, comprising eminent Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in the oil and gas industry and the judiciary, was established to provide guidance and direction for the smooth running and efficient operation of the centre.
