The Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr. Sarki Auwalu, said on Monday the Federal Government is committed to reactivating all moribund oil and gas support facilities across the country.
Auwalu, who stated this during an assessment tour of some oil and gas support facilities in Lagos, said the move was part of the federal government’s effort at increasing refining capacity and gas utilisation in Nigeria.
One of the facilities visited by the DPR chief was Kaztec Engineering Limited Fabrication Yard in Ilase Village in Snake Island, Amuwo-Odofin local government area of the state.
Auwalu expressed dissatisfaction that the facility which was licensed to provide oil and gas support services by the DPR had not been operational since 2015 due to contractual disputes.
He said some of the critical equipment in the facility are owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) but are not being utilised for the benefit of Nigerians.
The DPR director said: “The industry depends on facilities like this to actualise their investment because it is like a support system for the oil and gas sector.
“Our visit here is to see an edifice that we licensed and it is dormant. But we are going to make it active because we see it as an opportunity to grow the oil and gas industry.
“We have issued several licenses for modular refineries that need fabrications. We cannot allow this kind of facility to remain under-utilised.”
