28 October 2016, Abuja – Despite the crash in the prices of crude oil in the international market, President Muhammadu Buhari, says the oil and gas industry still remains a critical panacea to Nigeria’s economic woes.
He said that though the country was diversifying its economy through agriculture, solid minerals amongst others, there was still need for a virile and efficient oil and gas industry to take care of our foreign exchange requirements.
He said that though the country was diversifying its economy through agriculture, solid minerals amongst others, there was still need for a virile and efficient oil and gas industry to take care of our foreign exchange requirements.
The president spoke yesterday in Abuja during the launch of the Short and Medium Term Priorities to Grow Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry (2015 – 2019), tagged the ‘7BigWins’, a new initiative by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. He explained that the roadmap being created under this initiative reflects the vision and aspiration of his administration in the sector, adding that the petroleum industry remains critical to the Nigerian economy of today and the future, despite our current challenges. He stated: “The golden era of high oil prices may not be here now, but oil and gas resources still remain the most immediate and practical keys out of our present economic crisis. “Oil and gas still remains a critical enabler for the successful implementation of our budget as well as the source of funds for laying a strong foundation for a new and more diversified economy. “This roadmap reflects the vision and aspiration of this Administration for this sector and I urge you all to deliver on the expectations contained in the Petroleum Industry Roadmap. This is a national imperative and a core thrust of our economic policy.” 2.2mbd oil output by 2017 Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, said that Nigeria’s crude oil output would rise to 2.2 million in the first few days of 2017, adding that the Federal Government has addressed a number of funding issues which would see Nigeria’s crude oil output rise to three million barrels per day in the next couple of months. He further stated that the country would ensure that it find every oil that is available in every part of the country, with increased private sector participation, while it intends to raise $5 billion and $20 billion in the short and long term respectively, for the Federal Government. Refineries not for sale now Kachikwu also gave reasons why the country is not keen on privatizing the refineries at the moment, stating that the Presidency and the Federal Economic Council had agreed that the refineries should be restored to its optimum capacity and made to work efficiently, while other issues should be addressed to guide against selling the refineries as scraps.
- Vanguard