Oscarline Onwuemenyi
30 June 2016, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has begun a road show in the Chinese capital city of Beijing to attract investments into the nation’s oil and gas industry.
Nigeria is targeting about $15 billion foreign investments from China and the Gulf States to replace and expand its ageing infrastructure in the oil industry.
The NNPC also targets $50 million investment from its roadshows and its major target of investors are in China, India and the Gulf Countries.
At the event which began on Tuesday, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu described Nigeria as a reservoir of natural resources waiting to be tapped.
He urged the Chinese investors to join their counterparts who have invested in Nigeria and were doing well in various sectors of the economy.
Kachikwu stated that Nigeria was a preferred investor’s destination because of its liberal policies and quick returns on investments.
The Minister yesterday also signed an agreement with a Chinese firm worth $30 million.
A top official of the NNPC, Anibor Kragha, who presented the areas of investments to the businessmen, described Nigeria’s oil company as the biggest investment on the African continent looking for partners that will be part of Nigeria’s oil and gas revolution.
Kragba assured the businessmen of a friendly environment and quick returns on investments in Nigeria’s oil industry.
Also at the roadshow, an indigenous investor in the industry, Dr. ABC Orjiakor, lent his voice to the attraction in the nation’s oil and gas industry.
According to Orjiakor, Nigeria’s oil and gas industry was a major platform which the country aims to expand its economy.
He also identified Nigeria’s population as an advantage for quick yields on investments.