Vice Chairman, WalterSmith Petroman Oil Ltd.,operator of Ibigwe marginal field, Mr Danjuma Saleh, has identified inadequate funding and insufficient technical capacity as major challenges facing marginal field operators.

Saleh disclosed in an interview in Lagos that marginal fields are oil fields or wells that are nearing end of commercial life and whose production rates are lower than 10,000 barrels per day.

The indigenous operator said that inability to access funds had made the marginal fields’ assets unattractive to investors.

He said that only way to enhance indigenous participation in the Nigerian petroleum industry was for government to make the assets more attractive and bankable.

“There should be timely agreement with lease holders and government agencies in all marginal filed operation.

“ Government should assist indigenous marginal field operators through import duty waivers and tax breaks and also improve local bank involvement by reducing rates,’’ he said.

Saleh said that marginal field operators were contributing to the country by expanding Nigeria’s oil and gas operational frontier, but were facing enormous challenges.

He said that poor technical competence, unstable assistance from foreign equity partners and low funding capacity of indigenous players posed serious concern.

“Federal Government’s policies to promote indigenous participation in the petroleum industry are quite laudable

“The success of the indigenous players’ incursion into field development and production can be said to be very ‘marginal’,’’ he said.

He said that those who were allotted marginal fields in 2003 faced funding challenges, adding that it was in 2005 that some banks started financing them.

Saleh said that a director in the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) had recognised the need to encourage successful marginal field operators in Nigeria.

He said that the director had assured that successful operators would be assisted to grow their fields.