Total Energies Nigeria, Country Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. Mattieu Bouyer yesterday said despite Federal Government incentives, investors would not come to Nigeria when costs are too high.
He said in terms of cost, it takes $20 to produce a barrel because lack of contractors competition is pushing costs high.
Bouyer said since many contractors exited Nigeria there has been no competition.
He spoke during a panel discussion: ” Defining the Outlook for Deep-eater Exploration And Production in Nigeria,” at the 2024 Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) conference in Abuja.
He said: “Because even with fiscal incentives, if your cost are too high, investment will not be possible.”
He noted that most of the previous contractors left the country, challenging the Federal Government to find out why they exited and negotiate their return.
“Need to understand why they left and put in place the means to bring them back, he said.
He revealed that deep water investment has been stuck in the country for a decade since Egina.
On competitive fiscal and contractual terms, he
said presently each company capable to work in Deep Water is benchmarking the opportunities versus portfolio alternatives.
According to him: “As Capex are capped, arbitration are made. So it’s important to be competitive and agile to accommodate requirements. Resources will not disappear, they are here but they will be pushed to a later stage while the country needs them now now.”
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The Total Energies boss described Nigeria as a country gifted with deep water industry that is yet to be developed.
Proffering solution, he sought sanctions for wrongdoing to attract investment.
He said: “Do like for the NAG. Government / SAE / NUPRC made EO in March and we managed to sanction Ubeta project in June. It shows that when a sound measure is taken, investment come.”
He disclosed that the company has already recorded zero flare.
“The new project is Egina, the project we started in 2019. We have zero flaring,” he said