Nigeria ready to help other African countries with oil exploration technology- Sylva

Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources in this exclusive interview with DOOSUUR IWAMBE, speaks on the plan of President Muhammadu Buhari to transform the oil sector among others.

*How much of our oil revenue is invested in Research and Development for the oil sector?

Research and Development (R&D) is a major part of this industry if you are not doing research, you are not developing. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has a robust R&D department and they are doing quite well.  I am working with the IUC and the joint venture partners to develop a lot of things in the oil industry. In addition, you will know that we have the Petroleum Training Development Fund (PTDF), that fund is dedicated for trainings for R&D.

R&D is a real part of this industry because you cannot grow in this industry without R&D. When we went to Saudi Arabia, myself and the GMD; we saw where R&D has taken the industry to in Saudi Arabia and we resolved that when we come back, we will see how we can even  sharpen R&D here because in the end, it is not just about producing oil, it is about developing capacity as well.

And now that you are having production in other African countries, our neighbours are discovering oil, they are looking up to us to give them the kind of know how, the experience to take advantage of our experience in this industry because as far as Africa is concerned we probably have the longest experience in oil production.

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Ghana found oil a few days ago; Equatorial Guinea found oil when you compare to Nigeria, a few days. Senegal is doing some exploration.  I understand that there is some work going on also in Kenya and Tanzania. Mozambique found gas a few weeks ago and Angola just a few years ago. We are the oldest producers and so they are looking up to taking advantage of our experience and we are very aware of it, so we want to see how we can develop the R&D sector so that we can equally  get our neighbours on the African boarders to take advantage of our experience in this industry.

**********How is Nigeria preparing to take advantage of the windfall following current issues between Iran and USA?

First and foremost, that is a misplaced expectation. The hostility between US and Iran have been long standing and  I don’t see how that can affect our fortunes in oil price here. Before now, something happened in the corner here, that was how the oil price used to be inconsistent. That was how Saudi Arabia took off $5million out of their production in one day. They were not moved because they had enough reserve to block the hole that was created by that action. The US also started their crude oil production. They do not really depend on imported crude oil these days. They have the capacity to service all their needs. The oil industry is moving away from reacting to this kind of events that we always thought was going to move things up.  If we are able to get the windfall in Nigeria today, is going to be managed differently because the government in place is different.

What used to happen before with a lot of impunity, today, everything will be seen. Before now there even was a situation where crude oil was sold and the proceeds were diverted. You are a living witness to that. It is a very recent history that crude oil was sold and the country didn’t see the proceeds at all. It went into private accounts, but that can’t happen again because of the Single Treasury Account (TSA). Everything comes into this account and everybody can see it.

Leakages have been blocked. If we are to have the windfall today, Nigeria will see the benefits. The government today is able to see and do alot more today because of the blocked leakage. If we are to have a windfall today, I can assure you that Nigeria will benefit better than before.

***********Any plans by government to compensate those affected by spillage?

There are always plans to compensate those affected by oil spill. But the problem with oil spillage is whether it is the fault of the oil companies or those impacted by the spillage. We have situations where some elements in the community go to blow up the pipelines. I want to state here that the Federal Government would no longer tolerate deliberate sabotage of oil pipelines by unscrupulous persons. The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would not stomach the destruction of critical oil assets in the country. The issue of compensation of oil bearing communities has always been a top most priority of the President, but it would no longer be business as usual for those who engage in vandalisation of oil pipelines and other criminal activities.

Henceforth, all issues of oil spillage would be thoroughly investigated to ascertain whether the spill occurred naturally or it was caused by human activities.

The Federal Government has done a lot for oil bearing communities. I am from the oil producing state and nobody will be in doubt that my state is an oil producing state, but look at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), it was established to deal with this same issue of compensation and development for the oil bearing communities.  Unfortunately, trillions of naira spent there has gone into private pockets. So these investigations have to be done first to ascertain that the fault is from the oil companies before any compensation would be made.

************What is the status of Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) project?

The TSGP has probably been on the drawing board for 30 or 40 years and yet has not taken off. I understand that the Algerians had some differences with Nigeria; let us look at those details and clear them out so that we can move forward.

But before working on the TSGP, both organisations must look at the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project which had also been on the drawing board for sometime also.