The junior oil minister disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday while addressing the Schlumberger Global Chief Executive Officer (CEO),  Olivier Le Peuch, who led a delegation of the company to the ministry in Abuja.

According to the minister, the oil companies had already pledged the investment, but would not disclose their names for now until the business agreements were consummated.

He said: “We are also talking to a lot of big investors, who are going to invest big in the country. We are not going to announce until when the deal is finally consummated: Investment of over $20 billion. One company alone will invest $10 billion. The other one will invest $5 billion and like that.

“Yesterday, I was taking to a company and the company said they have a 100 well they want to do.” The minister said some of the investors that left Nigeria were gradually coming back. Lokpobiri said Nigeria had had its downtime in the last 12 years, but was now reversing the trend,

Lokpobiri promised that there would be consistency of policy in order to get the most needed investment.

He lamented that Nigeria’s oil production had been declining owing to dart in new investments in the last five years. He said the current administration was reversing that trend, but reversal was impossible without drilling, adding it is for this reason the government needed partnership with Schlumberger.

The minister assured the Global CEO that the ministry would sustain the partnership. He said the current government was determined to create the best environment for investments to return for the benefit of Nigerians and the partners.

Responding, Olivier Le Peuch, said he was overwhelmed by the vote of confidence and trust of the minister in their partnership. He said his firm had been in Nigeria for over 70 years, adding that the delegation was in Nigeria to renew the relationship and to seek investment partnerships.