On the sidelines of the Nigeria International Energy Summit holding in Abuja, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Hon. Tom Alweendo Petroleum Commissioner, Mrs Maggy Shino, engaged in a meeting with Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.
The meeting which was on the bequest of the Namibian delegation, was to engage in talks with the Nigerian oil and gas industry, to learn from their years of experience and also to seek opportunities to collaborate for capacity building.
In his response, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, pledged the Ministry’s support for Namibia’s Oil and Gas sector, saying that even though mistakes were made in Nigeria’s journey, they’ve made the sector resilient. He advised his counterpart to ensure that early commitments are made with partners for offshore exploration.
He assured the Namibian delegation of readiness to facilitate such a visit and to render support for the development of its oil and gas sector, through knowledge sharing, skills, expertise and know-how.
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He promised that as the Chairman of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Governing Council, he stood ready to inaugurate the reconstituted Board Council and refer all necessary support to Namibia.
“We have sufficient experience to share with you to guide you on the right path…because we have to take our own destiny as Africans into our own hands. The West is not slowing down but they want us to slow down so that we can import from them another lesson for Namibia is to look critically at the midstream and downstream sectors so that local, in-country refining of crude will give the projected 18 times more value to its citizens.” He said.
The meeting was facilitated by PETAN and held at the Minister’s office at The NNPC Towers in Abuja. It ended with the presentation of gifts to the Minister by the Namibian delegation and a photo session following which the Minister escorted the visiting team to their departure points.
