Ododo, Lokpobiri meet as Kogi seeks federal support for oil exploration

The Kogi State Government has taken fresh steps to attract investment in the exploration and development of its oil and gas resources. This follows a high-level meeting between Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe.

The meeting, held at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja, focused on strategies to leverage the frontier basin exploration fund domiciled with the NUPRC, with the aim of drawing both technical and financial support for the development of Kogi’s hydrocarbon deposits.

Governor Ododo expressed the state’s readiness to collaborate with relevant federal agencies and stakeholders to drive economic growth through effective exploration and development of its oil and gas assets.

He noted that Kogi has already enacted a law establishing the Oil Producing Area Development Commission and has been engaging key federal institutions to ensure that all stakeholders are carried along in the development process.

The Governor also referenced his October 2024 visit to the minister, during which he pledged to create a conducive environment for investors interested in petroleum exploration in the state.

Ododo reaffirmed the state’s commitment to partnering with the federal government in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s drive to boost Nigeria’s overall oil production.

Senator Lokpobiri reaffirmed Kogi’s status as an oil-producing state and assured of the federal government’s support in mobilising investments for the state’s oil and gas sector.

Kogi became Nigeria’s first oil-producing state in the North following the federal government’s confirmation in 2022 of commercial oil deposits, positioning it to benefit from federal exploration initiatives under the Petroleum Industry Act.