The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has bagged the 2021 Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Excellence Award.

The award, received by the Director and Chief Executive Officer of DPR, Mr. Sarki Auwalu, at the 2021 NOG Conference Gala Nite held in Abuja, recently, was in recognition of the regulatory agency’s achievements since Auwalu came on board.

Those achievements, according to the organisers of the annual event, included the establishment of the National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre (NOGEC) in Lagos, which was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in January.

The DPR also got the recognition for successfully completing the bidding for 57 marginal oilfields in the country, helping the federal government to shore up its revenue with a promise to enhance the nation’s oil and gas production.

The organisers of the award noted that the department’s transformation from a regulator to a business enabler and opportunity house in the oil and gas space was what Nigeria needed to maximise the potential of the sector.

Auwalu, in a statement by the Head of Public Affairs, DPR, Mr. Paul Osu, thanked the organisers for the recognition, stressing that it would spur the DPR to attain greater heights.

He assured that DPR would continue to create opportunities that enable businesses and investments for all stakeholders by using its service instruments of licenses that guarantee investments, by using permits that enable participation and by using its approvals that authorise activities.