*To construct extra 2000km of oil and gas pipeline
*Grows gas utilization from 1 to 5 million scf
Yemie Adeoye
6 December 2011, Sweetcrude, Doha, Qatar – The Nigerian Government has reeled out a sustainable action plan designed to promote rapid inflow of foreign investments into the oil and gas industry as well as develop in-country capacity.
For this action to be implemented and sustained the upstream sub-sector of the petroleum industry would require investments in the volume of 135 billion US dollars to drive effective growth.
Delivering a Presentation at the ongoing 20th World Petroleum Congress, WPC in Doha, Qatar yesterday, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke said the country is primed to construct an additional 2000 km oil and gas pipelines across the country to meet the envisaged industry requirement in line with the Gas Revolution Agenda within the next five years.
Nigeria currently has over 5000 km of both crude, gas and petroleum products pipeline traversing the creeks and mangrove of the Niger Delta region as well as other parts of the country.
Mrs. Alison-Madueke also stated that as part of the administration’s commitment to ensure that Nigeria and Nigerian reap bountifully from the proceeds of the God given hydrocarbon resources, the Federal Government is opening the upstream sector of the oil industry up to receive a projected $130billion investments within the next five years.
“I can assure you that Nigeria is entering a new phase in the oil and gas industry which is anchored on the principle of using local content to achieve growth, develop in-country capacity as well as attract foreign investment,’’ the Minister stated.
She said that with the successful execution of the amnesty programme which has helped increase crude and condensate production to new levels of about 2.4 million barrels per day, aspiring foreign investors have no reason to be pessimistic about the safety of their investment.
“Across the sectors investment opportunities abound for willing multinationals and other partners as the federal government has worked out different investment partnership models to guarantee apt return on investment to all concerned,’’ Mrs. Alison-Madueke intoned.
She listed some of the areas for foreign investment intervention to include; Engineering Design and Related Services, Petroleum Engineering Services, Fabrication and Construction, Pipe Mills, Equipment leasing, Civil Works, Logistics and Haulage, Financial Services, as well as in the areas of hospitality services for construction workers.
The Minister stated that though, Nigerian indigenous companies have shown strong capabilities since the advent of the Nigerian Content Act, more foreign investments are needed to help increase the quantity as well as the quality of in-country capacity.
“As you can see we have put in place all the machinery for an explosive growth in across all strata of the petroleum industry from the downstream to midstream and up to the upstream. There is an established enabling environment for investment and we are continually evolving to adapt to the challenges of the time,’’ she enthused.
