The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, yesterday expressed concern over the non-availability of data on Nigeria oil sector in the country.
According to her, Nigerians have to go to the secretariat of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC ) before getting data on Nigerian oil.
She said: “immediately after the minister’s speech last week, somebody stood up and said we didn’t have data source on Nigeria. And I was actually ashamed of myself and I think as we provide data for OPEC, we should address the question of churning credible data to be consumed in-country. It is a pity when students are looking for data we have to go to OPEC to get data about Nigeria.”
She spoke while declaring the OPEC data management training workshop open at the Petroleum Technology Development Fund ( PTDF ) in Abuja.
Yemi-Esan tasked the stakeholders in the workshop to work with the ministry to ensure that there is a generation and provision credible data that could help in planning and research purposes in the country.
She noted that the ministry works with the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas, the Central Bank of Nigeria, Debt Management Office, National Population Commission, Energy Commission of Nigeria, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and Indorama Nig Ltd in order to generate its data.
The Perm Sec, who noted that OPEC had commended the ministry on the last questionnaire it filled on data generation, stressed that “the format has changed slightly and we want to be sure that we are actually doing better. That is why we have this training.”
According to her, the ministry was expecting participants from Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon but they cancelled their trip at the last minute.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the PTDF which hosted the event, Dr. Aliyu Gusau, noted that presently the organization relies heavily on member countries for accurate and timely data to effectively carry out its mandate.
He added that for the Fund, “this workshop offers an opportunity for the expression of our strategic objectives to engage more effectively key players of the oil and gas industry by making valuable contributions that will further enhance capacity building of personnel and operators in the industry.”
Speaking, the Head, OPEC Data Management, Dr. Adedapo Odulaja all the activities of the organization is based on the data from member countries.
He stressed that without data transparency the oil industry cannot thrive. He noted that there are legal and technical aspects of the data, and without capacity building on them there will be no achievements in the industry.
He pointed out that the essence of the workshop was as a result of the need to make other agencies in the world compatible with the change in the questionnaire that was used for 20 years.
He submitted that “we will have to understand the connection between the old and the new one and that is why we are here today.” - The Nation
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