Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, said the cost of crude oil production will escalate if oil companies relocate to the Nigeria Delta given the present level of insecurities in the region.
The minister, who spoke during a special town hall meeting organised by the Bayelsa State government and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources with chiefs, youths and other stakeholders in the state, said youths and residents of the region must eschew restiveness and work for peace and security before multinationals can relocate to the region.
He said, “We look at it from the perspective of cost. It will be cheaper for oil companies to operate from here because it is nearer from the operating areas.
“The only concern is that we have a responsibility to bring peace and security because that is another source of cost.
“If you don’t have peace and security and the oil companies move back here, then you add to the cost of oil production.”
Sylva added that it will make sense for oil companies to return to Niger Delta if the region is safe because it will be cheaper for them.
“They were here before. Shell was in Port Harcourt and Warri and most of other companies were here. They only ran away when insecurity took over the region. It is time to bring back peace and security so that those firms can return. On our part as the ministry, we are not against the oil companies moving back,” he stated.