The minister observed that the Light sweet Nigerian crude is very similar to the light oil produced in US shale, adding that as US shale production has grown, the appetite for Nigerian crude in the US has dropped dramatically.
Browsing: Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu
“The enormity of the problems the current administration met on ground in the petroleum sector is one that requires a great deal of focus and commitment to tackle and by God’s grace, we will get there,” Kachikwu said.
“Our estimate is that you need about $100 billion worth of investment to drive this sector. Those investments will go into gas projects, they will go into pipelines that have be replaced, they will go into new plants, they will go into the flare policy of the government, they will go into the development of LPGs and CNGs.”
The federal government in November 2017 disclosed that it was considering granting 13 operational licences for modular refineries in the Delta region. It also has, as part of its policy to revive the country’s oil sector, the Seven Big Wins, plans to incentivise the construction of modular refineries in the region.
“In the past, most Nigerian energy and petroleum industry players spent huge foreign exchange to attend the popular Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, U.S. Today, Kachikwu has changed the narrative by conceptualising and hosting the new Nigeria OTC, that seeks to bring investors and players in the sector to Africa for the first time.”
He said, “Ultimately, the greater challenge that this country would have and still have is that of pricing. Everybody wants power, available gas and freely delivered fuel with no queues, but people are not willing to make the sacrifices that are essential for these things to happen.”
“We would get to a point where Nigeria, definitely, would be a major supplier of refined petroleum products. It just has to happen. Nothing else makes sense. We are also saying directly to oil companies that a time would also come when we would not be open to see them move around all the crude oil they produce in Nigeria.”
He said, “Thankfully, a breakthrough came in the form of the declaration of cooperation. This was the culmination of an extensive consultation undertaken throughout 2016 with the aim of gaining consensus about the strategic urgency of bringing this market back to balance in a collective manner.”
He said the maiden edition of the NIPS which is scheduled to hold from 18th to 22nd February, 2018, would provide a veritable platform for the international oil companies and other relevant stakeholders to brainstorm on ways to move the Nigerian petroleum sector forward.
“We are going to look at what is the net value for the country in these future projects. We are not, as a country, very impressed with the PSCs we put together. We lose a lot of money in the contracts,” he added.
