Kunle Kalejaye 07 March 017, Sweetcrude, Lagos – Managing Director of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, Mr. Tony Attah, says Nigeria must take advantage of its abundant gas resources as he called for “deliberate decisions and policies to decouple oil from gas and attract investment”.
Attah stated this at the 2017 Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and International Exhibition in Abuja, with theme, “Nigeria’s Gas Sector – The Catalyst for Economic and Industrial Growth?”
“It is time for gas. We need deliberate decisions and policies to decouple oil from gas and attract investment. We need to do that now. Investments in the gas and LNG industry are declining.
“It is already difficult as things stand to find Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and growth in the gas industry has been cautious after the recent down-beat global crude oil price. In addition to this, Nigeria is ranked 167 of 189 countries in the ease of doing business index.
“Yet, experts maintain that there is the strong likelihood of increased gas demand in future and that is where the silver lining is. However, if we continue with the self-inflicted barriers in our gas industry, we might miss the opportunity to make this country a major player in the global energy mix,” he said.
He stated that the gas industry has benefited the nation’s economy, diversifying the revenue and export base, channelling FDI into the country, creating jobs and contributing significantly to the local manufacturing capacity, stressing all that would become waste if the country continued to shift policies and renege on international agreements that put some framework into the business and generated investor confidence.
“We need to be creative with incentives that will attract investments and preserve the sanctity of contracts and agreements for all of this to come together in our national interest,” Mr. Attah said.