In an August 16 statement signed by Willie Bassey, the Director, Information in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the new ministers were named.
However, the Ministry for petroleum resources had no substantive minister.
President Tinubu did not assign anyone to head the ministry of petroleum resources, he did appoint Heineken Lokpobiri, a legal practitioner and politician, to be the minister of state for petroleum resources.
Like Muhammadu Buhari before him, it appears the president wants to head the ministry himself. Recall that after naming his ministers during his first term, Buhari named himself the minister of petroleum resources, he continued in that role during his second tenure as well.
Current challenges plaguing the petroleum industry
Production issues: Right now, Nigeria is struggling to meet its 1.69 million barrels per day target set in the 2023 budget as the crude oil production benchmark needed to get the oil revenues which the country needs.
For July 2023, the country barely produced 1.29 million barrels per day, this is in addition to condensates production.
Without condensate production, the country produced 1.08 million barrels per day.
Note also that from 2024, the country will be required to adopt the 1.38 million barrels per day quota, newly assigned by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Crude oil theft
Although 2022 was a year that saw a massive drop in crude production, the war is not over, as Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), security agencies and third-party contractors like the Tompolo-led Tantita Security, are still struggling with crude oil theft, which hampers crude oil and gas production and creates a revenue problem for operators.
Lack of investments
Nigeria’s oil sector has not seen a huge influx of investments in years as investors are looking to new producers in Africa, while legacy producers like Nigeria are largely ignored. Meanwhile, a massive deal like the Mobil-Producing and Seplat asset sale which could increase the country’s oil and gas production is left unapproved.
Regulatory mismatch
Operators in the industry have noted in the past that there have been cases of regulatory mismatches between the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Petroleum Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
In conclusion
To tackle these issues, the country needs a capable and knowledgeable person with an awareness of the industry’s challenges and the focus/drive to fix them under the Ministry of petroleum resources.
To his credit, President Tinubu has made moves to ensure that there’s a clear regulatory framework regarding operations in the industry. He has also taken action steps to sell off some assets in the NNPCL to the private sector, to increase productivity and revenue through transparency and efficiency.
Soon, Nigerians will find out if he is indeed the best man for the job of petroleum minister.
On the other hand, they may find he is too distracted by other duties and responsibilities as president to be a truly efficient minister.