Nigeria sees $ 100b upstream opportunities amid exit of IOCS
OPEC, APPO promote crude exploration as Tinubu defends subsidy removal
DESPITE the dwindling in national fossil support fuel Oil and Companies for in exit vestment of Inter( IOCS) from Nigeria, the Federal Government has said over $ 100 billion worth of opportunities are a vailable within the nation’s upstream space. President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, insisted at the ongoing Nigerian International Energy Summit ( NIE S) in Abuja that the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor
Spirit ( PMS) has come to stay. He said the decision was for Nigeria’s long- term security and economic prosperity , adding that his administration is dedicated to introducing social intervention initiatives mediate vulnerable hardships to groups. alleviate faced the im- by Represented by the Minister of Information and Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi, the President emphasised that energy security is key to any nation striving for economic stability and development, as it encompasses not only the availability and accessibility of energy resources, but also the resilience of energy infrastructure. He pointed out that petroleum subsidy has, over the years, strained the nation’s economic resources, resulting in inefficiencies and, crucially, impeding investments in essential aspects of energy security.
THIS is even as the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) and African Petroleum Producers Organization ( APPO) noted that the continuous exploration of oil and gas remained a viable option for energy security amid climate concerns.
While APPO disclosed that the Africa Energy Bank would be decided by next month and take off before June 30 this year, the Federal Government revealed that the OB3 pipeline has been completed and up for commissioning before the end of March. Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Arowolo Verheijen, said the Federal Government is pushing to improve the country’s competitiveness to investors locally and internationally.
According to her, when the government assessed the industry along with operators, it discovered about $ 100 billion worth of investment in the next one decade.
Verheijen admitted that regardless of where the investment could be coming from, there is a need for Nigeria to be attractive.
She said: “One of the focus areas for this administration is to ensure that the government doesn’t stay in the business of investing capital in a cycle that can’t easily attract private sector capital. We want to make sure that the opportunity sets are just as attractive and rank high in the portfolios of investors.”