The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has commended Nigeria for ranking third among member countries in data submission.
Dr Omar Ibrahim, OPEC Governor for Nigeria disclosed this at the OPEC Data Management Training Workshop in Abuja, on Monday.
He said Nigeria has done well in the provision of credible data in the Oil and Gas sector.
“For some time, our record at data submission and also the accuracy of data, hasn’t been good in OPEC.
“We have always lacked behind most OPEC countries in data submission as well as the accuracy of data that we have been submitting.
“But in the last three years, things have changed, OPEC is very happy with us; the accuracy of our data has improved tremendously.
“Also, the timeliness of the submission of our data has improved tremendously, I believe that as at today we are the third in the hierarchy of data submission,’’ he said
Commenting on the training, he said that the major focus would essentially be on every part of data from crude oil production, Nigeria’s GDP and oil consumption.
Other areas, he said were in gas, refinery run and virtually everything about oil .
Mrs Folasade Yemi-Esan, Permenent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum resources said that the ministry had been working with relevant agencies to ensure accuracy in data collection.
She named the agencies to include the Central Bank of Nigeria, National Bureau of Statistics, Debt Management Office, among others.
She expressed joy over the OPEC commendation of the credibility of the data presented by the Nigerian government to the organisation.
“This underscores the purpose of this training workshop; we want to be sure we are doing the right thing,’’ she said
She regretted that some stakeholders were yet to appreciate government’s effort at ensuring credible and vast depository of data in the country.
She urged OPEC to ensure that the training exposed participants to more valuable ways of gathering data in the country.
“This will go a long way to help us in planning and making good decision in the oil and gas sector in our dear country,’’ she added.
Also, the Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Dr Aliyu Gusua, said the oil and gas sector remained a major economic hub in Nigeria and the world at large.
He said credible data was very important in ensuring transparency and accountability in the sector.
He noted that the sector remained vital in the provision of energy required for various activities in the world.
“It is expected that today’s training workshop conducted by the officials of OPEC secretariat will acquaint officers of the ministries and all government agencies involved in the compilation of annual OPEC questionnaire with the requisite knowledge on the functionality of the new template,’’ he said
He said that the workshop would offer PTDF an opportunity to express its strategic objectives and be engaged with the key players of the oil and gas industry.
He added that it would help the organisation make valuable contributions that would further enhance the capability of personnel and operators in the industry