7 October 2011, Sweetcrude, Lagos- To encourage greater investment in the nation’s gas sector, the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), has called for greater government intervention in infrastructure.
The association said the dearth of infrastructure is one of the major obstacle inhibiting multinational oil companies and new investors from investing in the country’s huge gas resources.
Speaaking at a pre-conference workshop briefing in Lagos, the President, NAPE, Mr Jide Ojo, noted that oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria are faced with a lot of issues.
against this backdrop, he said the NAPE’s pre-conference workshop will focus on the nation’s gas resources, with a view to “providing a forum for all stakeholders in the gas industry to articulate the primary issues impacting the development of he Nigerian gas market with particular reference to the commercialisation of he discovered resources and increased exploration.”
He added that the theme of the workshop, “Developing the Nigerian Gas Market, Commercialising Existing Discoveries and Encouraging Exploration,” was carefully chosen to generate “insightful value adding propositions” from the players chosen to speak on the issue.
NAPE’s President-elect, Mr Afe Mayowa, noted that operators are concerned because they are faced with a lot of issues, particularly with regard to infrastructure.
Acknowleding that the Federal Government has put in place some encouraging policies to boost gas development and commercialisation, Mayowa insisted that more incentives were still needded to attract new investments in the gas sector.
He explained that the technical programme of the workshop is built around four sub-themes. These, he said, will focus on “new approaches to gas exploration and commercialisation, and how Nigeria can transit from an oil and gas based economy; domestic gas supply, utilisation and infrastructural arrangements, as well as the relevance of marginal fields to gas supply.”
Also speaking, NAPE Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olusola Bakare, noted that compared to its proven reserves, Nigeria has a limited gas market.
According to him, “If all the gas discovered are produced, there will be no market for them. Besides, we need higher technology to produce gas as well as huge investments and without the corresponding policies, we will not have the desired development of our gas resources.”
Bakare added that the pre-conference workshop is therefore, an avenue for generating industry contribution to policy implementation.
The workshop holds in Lagos on October 25, and will attract industry big wigs, including the Managing Director, Nigeria LNG Ltd, Mr. Chima Ibeneche; the Group Executive Director, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Mr Andrew Yakubu as well as other industry chieftains.
