Gov Diri urges FG to return Atala oil field to Bayelsa

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has urged the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to return the Atala oil marginal field (OML 46) earlier revoked last year to the state government as the original owner.

Diri, who expressed shock over the revocation of the oil field and the controversy it generated, said the marginal oil field remained a prized asset of the state.

The governor stated this before the commencement of the weekly state executive council meeting in Government House, Yenagoa.

Governor Diri’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, in a statement, quoted him as calling on all concerned parties, including the DPR, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, to consider returning the oil field to the state.

He said: “Bayelsans are emotionally and sentimentally attached to that asset as it is the only oil asset we own even though it is a marginal oil field. It was a surprise and rude shock to us that the licence was revoked,” he said.

He added that “Bayelsa State government might not have the financial capacity or the technical know-how. But the government is ready to partner financial and technical experts to ensure that the field goes into full production.”