The Lagos State Government has disclosed that the sum of N3.911bn has been realised since it became an oil-producing state but the production has been hampered due to challenges faced by the company managing its exploration.
The state’s Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Biodun Ogunleye, made this known on Wednesday at the 2024 Ministerial Press Briefing to mark the second-term of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at Alausa, Ikeja.
Ogunleye said Lagos State, which joined the league of oil-producing states in the country in 2016, has received a total of N3.911bn as its share of the 13 per cent Derivation Fund.
Oil-producing states are entitled to 13 per cent derivation fund from the Federation Account. Others are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers
According to him, the Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company Limited (YFP), a wholly-owned indigenous firm and operator of the OML 113 offshore Lagos, commenced the production of crude oil from the field.
The commissioner said, “Between 2018-2019, the state government received N131 million as part of oil derivation from the Federal Government. And between 2020-2021, the Lagos State Government received N3.78 billion.
“But the owners of the assets have been having issues among themselves. And as long as they could not produce, there would be no money for Lagos.
“The state government is engaging them to ensure that they return to the field. And we hope that before the end of the year, they will find new technical partners and they can go back to production.”
On the community electrification programme, the commissioner said the governor has approved the procurement of 20,000 units of prepaid energy metres for low-income communities in the state.
The commissioner frowned upon the increasing death rate from gas explosions in the state, and said the state government would soon introduce stringent measures to regulate the operation of Liquefied Natural Gas vendors in the state.
Ogunleye said any gas service station not approved for operation in the state would face the full wrath of the law.
