Minister of state for petroleum resources, Ibe Kachikwu, on Monday met with Claudio Descalzi, the Chief Executive Officer of one of the major International Oil Companies operating in Nigeria.

The meeting which was held in Rome, Italy, was aimed at strengthening the partnership between the oil and gas giant and Nigeria.

In a statement after the meeting, Kachikwu, who also doubles as the board chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said that an agreement has been reached by the two parties which would improve power generation in ENI’s plant in Okpai, Delta state.

He added that the company will also contribute to the rehabilitation and enhancement of the Port-Harcourt Refinery.

The statement read in part: “NNPC and Eni, through its subsidiaries Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and Nigerian Agip Exploration (NAE), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote new activities that can significantly boost Nigeria’s social and economic development.

“Regarding the upstream sector, oil and gas production operations will intensify with an increased focus on development and exploration activities in the onshore, offshore and Ultra Deep Water operated areas.

“Concerning the refining sector, the parties agreed to cooperate for the rehabilitation and enhancement of Port Harcourt refinery.”

Kachikwu added that with regards to power generation, “access to energy will be further enhanced by doubling the power generation capacity in Okpai IPP through the fast track development of its Phase II, making it one of the largest combined cycle power plants in Africa.”

Recall that Kachikwu had earlier this year revealed that the Ministry of Petroleum will “complete all outstanding Memoranda of Understanding, MOU, and leverage on the relationship President Muhammadu Buhari has built over time to relate with foreign investors.”

“We are going to receive and complete all the MOUs that we began… the one in China…the one in India… we are going to do a roadshow to the UK…for Europe. We are going to do a roadshow to the U.S. with President Donald Trump coming in,” he said.

The minister of state also added that the process of revamping the country’s refineries will commence this year in order for them to function optimally.

He also pledged that the ministry will tackle gas flaring.