The Federal Government and the minister of state for petroleum resources have provided insight into why large companies are exiting Nigeria.
During the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria’s Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Conference, Minister Heineken Lokpobiri attributed the departures of major companies to the prevalence of middlemanism in the oil industry.
He explained that the presence of intermediaries has led to damage within the sector, prompting multinational giants like Schlumberger, Halliburton, and McDermott to withdraw from Nigeria.
“We have made mistakes. And I’m saying this specifically so that all African countries here today will not make the mistake that Nigeria made. When I became minister, one of the issues I was confronted with had to do with the multinational service companies all exiting Nigeria. They’ve all gone, except, maybe this Italian company, Saipem. That was the only one that was around. So we had a situation where there was a monopoly.
“The other big boys—the Schlumberger, Halliburton, the McDermotts—all of them have gone. All of you here in PETAN have your good days in these companies. That was where you started from. That was where you actually developed your capacity,” Lokpobiri said.
