By; PATRICK TITUS, Uyo
Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Upstream Resources, Senator Bassey Albert Akpan has given hope that Nigeria still has much to derive from the oil and gas sector of the economy.
Akpan who is also a Senator representing Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District, made the assertion on Wednesday, when he led members of the Senate Adhoc Committee on Oil Theft on a visit to the offshore production platform of Oriental Energy Resources, operators of OML 67 and OML 115, as part of the ongoing probe into crude oil theft in the Niger Delta.
Senator Akpan maintained that despite the country’s inability to meet the production quota outlined by the Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria oil and gas sector will still grow.
The lawmaker said, “I am confident that the nation’s oil and gas industry will grow beyond projections in the coming months.”
The Senate Committee Chairman, accompanied by officials of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), commended Oriental Energy Resources for adhering strictly to industry regulations and reporting no shortfall in production for the period under review.
He expressed satisfaction to see some levels of production at the Ebok Field, as against what was obtainable in some of the platforms the team visited on Tuesday, which were reported to have not produced for months.
The Ebok Field in OML 67 situates approximately 55 kilometers from Akwa Ibom shore.
Senator Akpan, who is popularly known also as OBA, is who is the Young Progressives Party (YPP) 2023 governorship hopeful for Akwa Ibom State, has enjoyed the widest acceptability of the electorate to over the leadership in the state among other governorship candidates.
