Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade, who is also a presidential aspirant in the All Progressives Congress (APC), has promised to review the cost of production of crude oil per barrel.
He made the promise while speaking about the need for Nigerians to elect a president with cognate experience in relevant fields, to change the country’s economic trajectory.
Prof. Ayade decried the current situation where the nation spends about 35 dollars to produce a barrel of crude oil.
He said: “I come from the oil and gas sector where I was a consultant responsible for crude oil analysis, responsible for process engineering, pipeline construction, piling processes and foundation work.
“So, like the back of my palm, I understand the oil economics of Nigeria. I understand our production quota; I understand the cost of production.”
The presidential hopeful pledged that if he secured his party’s ticket and subsequently got elected as president, one of the critical decisions he would take would be to review “the cost of producing a barrel of crude oil in this country.”
Said he: “When I become president of Nigeria, we are going to revisit the cost of producing a barrel of crude oil. It is the most unacceptable production cost in the world. At 35 dollars per barrel, that is staggering for oil that gushes from the ground naturally. We do not even need secondary recovery process to be able to allow for the capillary rise of our oil.
“It is very easy to say I want to run for president, to speak to the pleasure and give special talks that generate excitement among the watching public. But when it comes to the real thing, the real deal, it is the depth of knowledge; it is the capacity, the experiential capacity, that is what you really have to count on. And that is what I am bringing to the table.”