Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria's Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, tasked indigenous operators in the oil and gas sector to step up their investments and take over major operations from international oil companies .
The minister said it became important, especially as many were considering divesting and charting new paths. The minister urged indigenous firms to take over and stop playing safe if they would benefit from the opportunities availed through new trends in the industry. He added that efforts to bring down cost of production should not be by the government or through policies, but should be driven by the private sector.
“One of the mandates that I am giving the Department of Petroleum Resources is that as we begin to look at new projects, the cost at which we are going to produce is going to become critical to our ability to approve those projects for you.