FG Gives March Deadline for Unproductive Marginal Fields

Managing Director and the Chief Executive Officer of Frontier Oil Limited The Federal Government has slated the month of March as the deadline to revoke the licenses of unproductive Marginal Field operators.

This was revealed by Engr Dada Thomas, the Managing Director and the Chief Executive Officer of Frontier Oil Limited at an event in Lagos.

According to him, “The Marginal Field Operators who are not producing will know their fate in March 2015 when the government will decide whether or not to revoke their licences. My prayer is that government should look at them critically before they take their decisions. By the end of March, we will know which marginal field is retained and the ones that lost their licences”.

He continued, “My message is that those who manage to retain their licences should be effective in carrying out their businesses. I think my company and some others have shown that that the marginal fields could produce maximally towards the development of the oil and gas industry in the county”.

He further stated that out of the 24 fields awarded to 30 marginal fields companies in 2003, only eight are producing, while the rest are unproductive or fallow.

He added that it was as a result of this that the government had given them ultimatum to produce or lose their licences before March this year.

In a related development, Engr Thomas said that the dwindling oil prices were majorly caused by the development and sustenance of the United States shale gas revolution and urged the country to work towards the development of its’ vast gas reserves to augment the losses it suffered as a result of the dwindling oil prices.

“All of you must have heard about the shale gas revolution. It is the reason why our budget has not been passed; it is the reason why the federal Government had written the oil companies to slash their budget by 40% because shale revolution has adversely affected the price of oil. In June last year, crude price was $115, but struggling at $60 now. The National Assembly has now agreed to benchmark the 2015 budget at $52, therefore, Nigeria should think of developing the over 180 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas reserves in the country”.

Speaking further, he advised that the country should pay more attention to gas production as it is one of the major revenue generation sources even as he regretted that Nigeria had not given the sector the necessary attention before now.

“The country had not paid much attention to the production of gas before now. I want Nigerians to understand that the gas revolution has started, even though it has been slow here. I think in the next ten years or so, we will see a major improvement in the way gas is being harnessed and used in the country. This will ensure that we grow our economy and improve the quality of life of Nigerians. It is good for the country to join the success story about production and utilization of gas around the world, so that won’t be left out” he said.