The Federal Government, on Tuesday, declared to Western nations in Europe and America that Nigeria would not stop the exploration of fossil fuels despite the pressure being mounted by the West for the discontinuation of investments in fossils.
It also stated that some of the countries in Europe and America had been investing in fossils but were asking Africa to stop further exploration of crude oil on the continent.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, who disclosed this at a summit in Abuja, also revealed that the Federal Government was working hard to halt the complete divestment of International OIl companies out of Nigeria.
He said, “I was in Davos in January and I was privileged to participate in several panels and everybody was talking about the abandonment of fossil fuels, and that people should not invest in fossil fuels. And I ask one American diplomat by saying look, why don’t you start with America?
America is the highest producer of oil, they are ramping up production but they are asking us to stop. Remember that last year, the United Kingdom, under the present prime minister, gave about 100 licences for oil exploration.
“This means that the West is not slowing down in exploration, but we are being asked to slow down or stop investments in fossil fuel. I’ve always told them that we are not the problem, we are the victims and we will transit at our own pace.”
The minister noted that Norway and many other countries in the West were still investing in fossil fuel exploration, but ironically they had been urging African countries to halt production.
Our target is to explore these resources in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way. We are not stopping! We need the money to be able to transit, and for us to transit, we will get the right investments,” Lokpobiri stated.
He also stated that the country must increase its crude oil production in order to meet both domestic and international obligations.
He expressed optimism that with the rehabilitation of NIgeria’s refineries, the demand for foreign exchange for the importation of petroleum products would be reduced once the refineries come onstream.
“I’m aware that most of our forex goes to the importation of refined products, but now that we are rehabilitating our own refineries, which will come into full operation by the end of this year, some of them have already started.
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