The Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, last Friday September 1, 2016 paid his maiden visit to the Department of Petroleum Resources and among other things, informed that his office was preparing a new and robust policy document that is focussed on repositioning the sector to achieve higher goals and hoped that DPR as the foremost regulatory institution would position itself in assisting him and government in bringing this to fruition. He promised that very soon there will be a rollout of a road map to take a comprehensive look at the oil and gas industry with a view to revamping it.
Dr. Kachikwu also challenged staff to improve their skills set to enable them rise up to the challenges that lie ahead, in view of the changing dynamics in the oil and gas sector and the economy at large. He promised to assist Management to put in place a sustainable pension scheme and other benefits as a means of incentivising staff for optimal performance.
He advised senior staff to mentor their subordinates and also to recommend appropriate training programs to help breach any identified gaps. He further advised that older officers should consciously prepare for effective transition by grooming their successors while still in service in order for the system not to suffer shortage of knowledgeable personnel whenever the experienced ones retire. He charged everybody to eschew mediocrity in the discharge of their duties, informing that key performance indicators (KPIs) would be critically evaluated in the new scheme of things being considered.
The Minister who commended the DPR management on the ongoing infrastructural transformation of the headquarters building into an edifice befitting of its status as a key regulator, recalled the sterling role played by DPR in mitigating the adverse effects of the fuel scarcity on the population and enthused that it was largely owing to this critical effort that we are experiencing stability in the downstream sector. He revealed that going forward, the plan is to reduce petroleum products consumption in the country by 20% and to increase exports by 70% as a measure to earn more foreign exchange revenue.
Earlier on, the Director of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Mordecai Danteni Baba Ladan in his welcome remark recalled that the Minister’s visit to DPR should have held in August, but was shelved due to exigencies of duty, but was nonetheless very happy that the visit eventually held, since the Department and staff were eager to showcase their value to the industry. He also remarked that the Minister was quite well informed on the role the DPR plays in the oil and gas industry as its foremost regulator.
Mr. Ladan then proceeded to give a brief description of the Department’s staff strength, spread and the challenges faced in carrying out its mandate notwithstanding these limitations. He pledged on behalf of management and staff, that DPR would continue to strive hard to ensure that the sector is well regulated within the existing statutory framework.
