*Says FG desirous to increase investment in the oil and gas sector
By Emeka Ugwuanyi
In alignment with Federal Government’s commitment to boosting investments in the oil and gas sector, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, toured TotalEnergies’ offshore facilities at the Ofon and Egina fields to see how government can aid to improve outputs from the fields.
The one-day familiarization visit gave the minister a first hand opportunity to see TotalEnergies’ investment initiatives and ongoing projects, recently. The visit was aimed to reinforce collaboration between the government and the energy giant in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The visit held on March 12, 2025, according to a statement from TotalEnergies, was intended to intimate the Minister with TotalEnergies’ investment plans, ongoing projects and challenges faced by the company in the areas of capex and community relations.
On hand to receive the Minister were the Managing Director, Matthieu Bouyer, the Deputy Managing Director JVA, Olivier Cassassoles, Deputy Managing Director, DWA, Victor Bandele and the Executive General Manager, HSEQ, Eragbae Aikhoje.
In his remarks at the end of the tour, the Minister, Senator Lokpobiri commended the company for being a shining example of what the Federal Government expects from International Oil Companies.
“The Federal Government is very desirous to increase investment in the oil and gas sector to boost its production level. So, I must commend TotalEnergies for being a shining example of what the Federal Government expects from IOCs. So let us work together and see how we can improve the sector and continue to do what we can to support your company for our mutual benefit”.
The Minister, however, noted that the Government is not unmindful of the problems of the International Oil Companies (IOCs). Let’s have a meeting, see where the problems are and arrive at a win-win situation. “We are not trying to give problems to anybody, it’s going to be a win-win approach because government is not unreasonable to people’s problems”, he added.
Thanking the Minister for the visit, the Managing Director, Matthieu Bouyer said TotalEnergies is ready to partner with the Federal Government in achieving its objectives of boosting production levels through the implementation of the various new projects lined up by the company.
He stated that these projects which are tied-back to existing fields will not only increase production but also bring more revenue to the Federal Government.
