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Kachikwu seeks approval of FDP to attract investments in oil, gas

By Roseline Okere
18 May 2018   |   4:15 am
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has urged the Federal Government to act quickly to evaluate and approve Field Development Proposals (FDPs).

The Minister of State for Pretroleum Resources Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu PHOTO: TWITTER/NNPC

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has urged the Federal Government to act quickly to evaluate and approve Field Development Proposals (FDPs).

He said this was necessary to encourage investment in the country’s upstream sector.

Kachikwu, who made this assertion yesterday, said prompt approval of FDP would attract huge investments in the oil and gas sector.

He disclosed this at a technical symposium by the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ (SPE) Lagos section 61 on Field Development Plan (FDP) approval process.

Field development planning is the daunting process of evaluating multiple development options for afield.

It is also for selecting the best options, based on assessing tradeoffs among multiple factors, which net present value are typically the key drivers of decisions for publicly-traded operators.

The Senior Technical Adviser of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Johnson Awoyemi, represented the minister.

He stressed that the FDP is one of the fundamental criteria in the development of upstream exploration and production projects in Nigeria.

He listed some of the main issues that have resulted in delay of approvals to include the inadequacy/incompleteness of plans that do not address all the project development issues.

Kachikwu described FDP as a roadmap for the development of any asset in the oil and gas sector.

To tackle the issue of delay in FDP, the minister said the 7 Big Wins, has initiated the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP) as a solution.

He said: “The purpose of the NGFCP is to eliminate wastage of gas, thereby stimulating economic growth, driving investments and providing jobs in the nation through the use of widely available innovative technologies.

Kachikwu said government deemed it tactful to initiate the NGFCP, which would provide multiple options to eliminate the bottlenecks associated with FDP’s approval.

He added that the laws of Nigeria prevent license holders from installing facilities or producing oil and gas without the approval of the Minister of Petroleum Resources or its delegate.

The Director, DPR, Mr. Mordecai Ladan, said in moving forward, the agency would try to expedient fast approval of the FDP provided the operators do the needful.

The Assistant Director, Operations, DPR, Mr Babajide Fashina, represented him.

He explained that the agency approves FDP in less than two weeks, provided that the operators submit their proposal timely.

Chairman, SPE Lagos section 61 Mr Temitope Oshutuyi, said the
association was dedicated to the technical dissemination of information in the industry and would continue to add values to its members companies.

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