Deputy petroleum minister Heineken Lokpobiri has tasked oil operators in the country to unlock untapped assets and convert dormant licenses into measurable output.

Mr Lokpobiri stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, at the ongoing 2025 Nigeria Oil and Gas Energy Week.

He stated that the country would no longer tolerate underperformance and dormant assets in the oil and gas sector, and as such, operators must re-enter shut-in wells.

“Operators must wake up to the responsibility they hold; the era of dormant fields and underperforming assets must give way to action,” he said.

The minister directed oil operators in the country to increase production or face a reevaluation of their partnerships.

He said the government was prepared to re-evaluate existing partnerships in the oil and gas sector to ensure they aligned with national objectives, for resource development and economic value creation.

Mr Lokpobiri said the federal government remained resolute in its drive to boost national production and, as such, would ensure that maximum value was derived from upstream assets currently held by operators.

“This objective has taken on greater urgency as global financing for oil and gas projects continues to tighten, making it increasingly difficult for operators to secure the capital needed to develop these assets.

“It is no longer acceptable for critical national resources to remain in the hands of companies that lack technical or financial capacity to optimise them. We will also not allow those who use such licences as a lever to access capital, only to divert it to unrelated ventures,” stated the oil minister.

Mr Lokpobiri added, “Our oil and gas industry has witnessed far too many cautionary tales of this nature, and we must now draw a clear line. Let’s be clear: Joint Ventures and Financial/Technical Services Agreements are not weapons to hold the sector hostage.

“They are frameworks built on trust that you will act in the nation’s best interest. If you cannot, it’s time to step aside or step up through partnership.”

He stated that the mandate from President Bola Tinubu to the new NNPCL board to review all existing operatorship arrangements was not just an administrative exercise.

According to him, it is a clear signal that operators must wake up to the responsibility they hold.

He said the federal government had implemented far-reaching reforms, executive orders, fiscal incentives, and streamlined regulatory processes to ease operators’ work and make investment more attractive.

(NAN)