Nigerian minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu said on February 14, 2017, that the Federal Government lost about $100 billion revenue last year to incessant attacks on oil facilities by militants in the Niger Delta.
Kachikwu, who stated this while talking on his ministry’s 20-point agenda, also said the country lost about 1 million barrels per day at the peak of the attacks.
He said: «At the highest of it last year, we were producing 1.2mbpd. We were losing literally a million barrels daily. At that time also, we were losing an average over $50-$100 billion unearned income as a result of disruption. Jobs were out, pipelines were thrown over the entire place, refineries couldn’t work to capacity, we couldn’t meet our contractors’ international obligations, and the economy basically suffered.»
Kachikwu explained that the fall in oil price did not help matters.
Speaking on development in the Niger Delta, the minister said the Federal Government had come up with 20 options that should be pleasing to the region.
He said: «Today we view 20 potential options that we can look at. First, we begin the process of engaging the communities, and one of the things the oil companies are going to be doing together in the next one month is to be having a meeting once in every 2 months with the state executives and oil producing communities.»
The oil rebels say they want a fairer share of Nigeria's multi-billion-dollar oil wealth for the Niger delta people as well as greater political autonomy.
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