The Federal Government has raised concerns over alleged diversion and mismanagement of Nigeria’s Frontier Exploration Fund, urging that the money, managed by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), be used solely for its intended purpose. 
 
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, who disclosed this, warned that individuals and agencies found responsible for misusing the fund will be held accountable.
 
He disclosed this yesterday in Lagos during the opening of the 43rd Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), accusing unnamed parties of undermining the fund’s objectives.
 
The Frontier Exploration Fund, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), was designed to finance new oil exploration in Nigeria’s frontier basins, including regions such as Chad, Sokoto, Anambra, Benue, and other underexplored areas. 
 
Lokpobiri lamented that since the law came into effect, the fund has not been optimally deployed, with some funds reportedly borrowed for unrelated purposes.
 
“We have, under the PIA, the Frontier Exploration Fund domiciled with the NUPRC. That fund itself has to be used for its inclusion in the PIA. Since I became minister, we haven’t placed much premium on using the Frontier Exploration Fund to finance exploration in these largely unexplored areas,” he said.
 
The minister warned that misusing the fund threatens the oil and gas sector.

“At the moment, some people are borrowing the fund for different purposes. And that is the danger. If you have money lying fallow there, somebody will borrow it in the name of trying to bring it back, and they will never come back. So, who do we hold accountable?”
 
He stressed that those exploiting or mismanaging the fund must be held responsible, and that the money should be channelled to genuine exploration programmes aimed at growing Nigeria’s oil reserves.
 
The minister described the underutilisation of the fund as a disservice to Nigeria’s quest for energy security and economic stability. He warned that without fresh exploration, the country’s proven reserves and production levels risk stagnation.  Most of Nigeria’s oil discoveries date back decades, he noted, urging an urgent reversal of this trend to sustain production and revenue.