"My expectation is for us to come up with our home-grown solution to address our problem in the petroleum industry," an official said.
Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) on Monday charged stakeholders and experts in Nigeria's oil and gas industry to come up with home-grown solutions to the myriad of problems bedevilling the country's oil and gas sector.
Mr Lokpobiri gave the charge in his address at the 3rd Biennial International Conference on Hydrocarbon Science and Technology (ICHST) tagged "The Future of the Oil and Gas Industry: Opportunities, Challenges and Development" held in Abuja on Monday.
In recent years, Nigeria has failed to meet OPEC production quotas.
The country has recorded a surge in pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft incidents in its oil-producing region, a development that worsened the nation's revenue challenge.
To curb crude theft, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) launched an application in August last year to monitor the incidence of theft and vandalism.
The NNPCL also awarded a multibillion naira pipeline surveillance procurement to a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, Government Ekpemupolo.
Speaking on Monday, Mr Lokpobiri urged oil experts to come up with home-grown solutions to address petroleum industry challenges.
"My expectation is for us to come up with our home-grown solution to address our problem in the petroleum industry. You will agree with me that in Nigeria today, we have so many problems developing the oil industry beginning with pipeline vandalization, oil theft, low productivity and we can't even meet our OPEC quota," Mr Lokpobiri said.
"As a ministry, our expectation is that all the agencies in the ministry, beginning with PTI to Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) to NNPCL, to Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)."
He said all parastatals will be able to collaborate and evolve relevant technology needed to be able to address the country's local oil and gas production problems.
"Nobody will come here and find solutions to our own problem and the solution to the problem in the Middle East may not be the solution to the problem here.
"And that is why from time to time, it is important that you the experts come together and therefore share ideas on how we can address our problems in the industry.
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"My expectation is that at the end of this two day conference, we will be able to have a document that is implementable, not academic," he added.
On his part, Minister of State Petroleum Resources, (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo, said it was imperative to focus on tackling the issues of energy transition, sustainability and energy security, which will guarantee that Nigeria maximizes the value from her abundant gas resources.
Mr Ekpo remarked that recent world events like the Russia-Ukraine conflict, had accentuated the fragile nature of the dynamics of energy demand and supply.
Last month, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Nigeria's crude oil production climbed to 1,269 million barrels per day in August 2023 from 1,171 million in July 2023.
Nigeria's August crude production was 98,000 barrels higher than its July production figure as it continues to recover from a heavily disrupted crude sector plagued by oil theft and pipeline vandalism.
The Nigerian government had said it is targeting 2 million barrels per day (bdp) of crude oil production by the end of the year.
