The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, has said crude oil production has increased by 80 percent, hitting 1,824,000 barrels in the last three years.

The Minister, during an interactive session with selected media organisations from the Niger Delta at the Bayelsa State Government House, said, “when he took over the office, Nigeria’s crude oil production “was less than 1 million barrels per day of crude and condensate.”

The revelation followed commendation by the Chief Executive Officer of Rehoboth Media, Susie Ogun, on President Bola Tinubu for the progress and greater stability in Nigeria’s petroleum sector, citing the reforms, increased production, investments and renewed activities across the industry.

Ogun also appreciated the President for the appointment of the Minister, describing it as a decision that had contributed to developments in the sector, adding that the performance of Senator Lokpobiri had positioned Nigeria as one of the global oil and gas destinations and investment-ready.

According to her, there are a lot of investments and impacts on the nation’s economy through the oil and gas sector, which this government had achieved, and she urged Tinubu and Lokpobiri to sustain the tempo and take it to the next level.

Meanwhile, Senator Lokpobiri, during his interaction with the media executives, said, “before this government came, there was zero investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector for over 10 years, but today, 60 percent of investments are coming to Africa in the oil and gas sector.

Speaking on the President’s effort to increase rig counts, he said, “When this government came, we had about 10 active rigs in the country. These rigs are the ones that drill new oil wells. All the oil wells we are producing today were drilled in the 60s and 70s.

“By the time we came, there were less than 10 active rigs. As of today, we have over 70 active rigs. That shows activity. That shows enormous activity and investment going on in the oil and gas sector.”

The Minister highlighted investments by Shell and ExxonMobil, Bonga North, H.I., Bonga Southwest, and Zabazaba in the deep shore, saying initially IOCs dominated 90 percent of Nigeria’s oil production, but “today, indigenous companies account for about 60 per cent of local production.”

Reacting to concerns that proceeds from subsidy removal were not being judiciously used, Lokpobiri explained that most of the proceeds are shared among the three tiers of government. He emphasised the need for citizens to hold their state and local governments accountable.

He said, “Today, we are sharing over ₦2 trillion. And that is why the 27 states that couldn’t pay salaries before this government came can now comfortably pay salaries and pensions and then execute capital projects. What people have failed to do is hold their state governments accountable.”

He said that at the federal level, the funds are targeted at new initiatives such as student loans, social investments, CNG, among other programmes.