Ejiofor Alike
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has stated that the state would get its first share of the 13 per cent Derivation Fund for oil producing states in December this year, following the first shipment of crude oil from the Aje Field located in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 113, offshore Lagos.
Speaking yesterday in Lagos at the 2016 Annual International Conference and Exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), the governor, who was represented by the state Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Wale Olowu, said he was pleased to announce that the first export from the Aje oil field had happened.
“That is not the big deal; the big deal is that Lagos State is anxiously awaiting its first derivation in December. So, in December, we will collect our first derivation. We cannot wait to see a lot of oil and gas come under the soil of Lagos because it will help us in the area of employment; it will help us in the area of electricity generation, which we want to do off-grid anyway, and it will also help us in making sure that our revenue continues to be diversified.”
“We reassure all stakeholders in the industry of our commitment to provide a safe and secure environment for exploration activities that is consistent with global best practice,” he added
Ambode said his government would continue to work to make the state the investment and oil and gas hub of the country.
According to him, the state was also closely monitoring and “getting ready to massively support other Oil Prospecting Licences in Lagos to make sure they can quickly transform to Oil Mining Leases.”
Ambode said the state government had established its own oil and gas corporation called Ibile Oil and Gas, which would open for business by next month.
Ambode said the company would be involved in exploration, development and production, among others.
“We also want the development of the oil and gas industry in the state. We didn’t plan it originally. But now that we are can see the evolution, we are doing everything possible to bring them together because on our west coast, we have found oil.
On the east coast, we already have Dangote refinery that is the largest in Africa and one of the largest in the world, and then in our centrals, we have the banks that can finance, the project, the oil tank farms and then we have the seaport for export,” Ambode explained.
Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company Limited had on May 3 announced the commencement of crude oil production on the Aje field.
