The Federal Government has awarded $21 million contract for the installation of meters in 187 flow stations in the Niger Delta.

The contract was awarded to monitor and ensure accountability of the volume of crude oil produced and exported out of Nigeria.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, disclosed this to newsmen in Abuja on Friday, July 12, 2024.

Lokpobiri noted that the move was one of the measures approved at the last Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu to increase crude oil production and generate more revenue to the federation account.

The minister, who said the contract was expected to be delivered in six months, added that the FEC also noted that a second memo on advanced cargo was also approved at the council meeting for the installation of softwares within the same completion period of six months

He said: “We took bold steps to reorganise the oil and gas sector.  One of the key approvals that the Federal Executive Council approved on Wednesday has to do with awarding a contract for the metering of 187 flow stations across the Niger Delta region of Nigeria by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

“As part of our steps to ensure we have proper accountability, the FEC approved the metering of all our production and we have 187 flow stations in the country littered across the Niger Delta area and there was a contract awarded for us to metre all flow stations so that we’ll be able to properly account for what we produce and what we export.

Otuaro: Tinubu’ll develop, stabilise Niger Delta

“It’s a major development that has never happened in this country and this project is meant to be completed within six months, within 180 days it’s important that Nigerians know some of the key steps this government is taking so that we maximise the opportunities that other countries are getting by the availability of the oil and gas in Nigeria.

“As part of the steps in ensuring that we account for what we produce and Nigerians get maximum value for what we produce, the second memo that was approved by council which means we awarded a contract to a company that will provide the technology within 180 days, the same period, to enable us know from the point of loading of every cargo of crude oil that loaded in Nigeria up to the point of destination.

“So if, from Forcados terminal crude oil is loaded, I can stay in my office and know when it’s taken off from Nigeria up to the final destination. You will agree with me that most of the time we talk about the issue of oil thefts, major steps have to be taken. But this is the time for us to take very, very major steps so that we know from the beginning what we produce to the point of loading from our terminals up to the point of destination.”

Lokpobiri, who noted that the hard work of the current administration was paying off by restoring the confidence of investors in the nation’s oil and gas sector, added that oil was still the fastest way the country could raise the funding needed to address its economic and social challenges.

The minister, therefore, assured Nigerians that “this government is committed to transparently transform the oil and gas sector so that Nigerians can get the benefits of the abundance and availability of oil and gas resources that are in Nigeria.”

The Star