A world renowned oil engineer, Mr Barth Nwibe, has said that if nothing was done to harmonise the oil sector in Nigeria, the country will loss her rating in oil production in the next 30 Years.
Nwibe said non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill will also contribute to stifling oil production in Nigeria, and that in the next 30 years, Nigeria will struggle to meet up 1million barrels of oil per day.
The Group Managing Director of Segofs Energy Services (an Oil and Gas company), who spoke on Wednesday at the 4th International Conference on Engineering Adaptation and Policy, Reforms For Industrial Development (ICEAPR), said one of the challenges being faced by Nigeria was low exploration, drilling and production activity.
Speaking under the theme: Nigeria, Beyond The Oil, at the conference, which held in Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Anambra state, Nwibe said; “The country had become the poverty capital of the world today. Nigeria today has only 17 rigs, while in the 80s, she had 40 rigs.
“If nothing drastic is done, in the next 30 years, the country would not be able to produce one million barrel of oil a day. Nigeria needs the Petroleum Industry Bill, which has been lying there since 12 years passed into law.
He said the cheapest way to raise funds for the country was to increase the oil production to five million barrels a day, adding that the country needed to embark on urgent agency reforms to increase exploration.
“Our leaders should know that politics and leadership build and destroys a nation. States and the Country need the right people to drive the Country and move her forward.”
He called on the academia to review the education curriculum to ensure that young graduates were equipped with the necessary skills such as robotics, artificial intelligence, ICT etc. to drive the 21st century economy.
In his Opening Speech, the Chairman of the Occasion, Dr Patrick Obi had earlier said that Engineering played key role in ensuring the growth and development of a country’s economy as well as improving the quality of life for citizens within the country.
He said, “A country’s economy is no longer measured by the quantity or volume of her mineral resources. Rather, It is knowledge, and not baggage, that drives economies all over the world.”
