By Teddy Nwanunobi
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has identified six pillars critical to its strategy for Maximum Economic Recovery (MER) for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Engr. Sarki Auwalu, the DPR Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who made the disclosure during a recent meeting with technical teams from the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, noted that the objective of MER was to maximise the expected net value of economically recoverable petroleum from Nigeria’s acreages.
He said the pillars critical to MER are: Reserves Maturation and Production Optimisation, Exploration and Resources Maturation, as well as Improved Oil Recovery and Enhanced Oil Recovery (IOR/EOR) implementation.
According to him, it also includes: Asset Stewardship, Performance Evaluation and Rewards, and Risk Management.
Auwalu said this would help protect investments, business continuity and sustainability, improved collaboration and cost reduction in the oil and gas sector.
Auwalu said that the Federal Government, through the MER strategies, was targeting to increase the nation’s oil reserves from 36.91 billion barrels to 50 billion barrels in the short to midterm.
He said the government was also targeting increasing Nigeria’s proven gas reserves from 206.53TCF to 250TCF.
Auwalu said as part of the MER’s strategy, the DPR has initiated an annual award for companies, projects or individuals who have added value to the Nigerian terrain through improved and enhanced recovery of the country’s oil and gas resources.
“As the part of the government’s obligation, it will encourage investment in Nigeria by creating a stable, competitive and predictable business environment.
“The government will encourage existing technologies to be deployed to full effect to maximise full economic recovery of Nigerian resources.
“The government will also promote active exploration for new oil and gas resources in Nigeria and facilitate timely and effective data sharing,” he said.
The Director said that it would be a greater access to timely and transparent data necessary for a competitive market.
He added that the DPR would work closely with industry stakeholders to deliver MER through collaborations, communication, cooperation and coordination.