The chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, has commended the CEO of Aiteo Oil Company, Benedict Peters, for resuming crude oil production days after the oil firm disclosed that there had been an oil leak on its Nembe Oilfield asset in Bayelsa State.
Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company (AEEPCO), operator of the NNPC/Aiteo Joint Venture on OML 29, Saturday, said that the development followed the completion of the joint investigative visit to the spill site by all stakeholders as required by extant regulations.
Reacting to the news, Hon. Ugochinyere, in a statement on Monday, said that the resumption of oil production at field was patriotic and timely for economic growth of the nation.
The lawmaker said the slump in Nigeria’s monthly oil outputs, which has resulted in billions of Naira revenue loss, was a source of concern to the parliament.
He stated that this continued plunge in Nigeria’s oil production has severally been blamed on the incessant vandalism of oil pipelines and crude oil theft.
While commending Aiteo for the speed and professionalism in handling the oil leak, Ugochinyere assured of the National Assembly’s commitment to addressing the issue through legislative interventions.
