Mkpoikana Udoma
Abuja — The United Kingdom intends to double its investment in Nigeria by 2030, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms. Catriona Laing, has said.
Speaking at the Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference in Abuja, Laing disclosed that the UK had over £5.5 million investment in Nigeria and was looking forward to doubling the figure by 2030.
The High Commissioner, who revealed that oil and gas account for 95 percent of the United Kingdom’s import from Nigeria, assured that Britain would offer expertise to Nigeria as the country moved to the deep offshore while expressing optimism that oil and gas would continue to be a part of the energy mix in the world for some time.
“Our investment in Nigeria is at £5.5 million and we are intending to double that by 2030. Nigeria is our third largest market in Africa and, oil and gas account for 95 percent of our imports from Nigeria.
“The UK has 50 years operating experience in the North Sea, so we have 50 years experience in deep offshore exploration, engineering, and technology. We have the track records in oil and gas chains, British companies particularly in drilling technology, subsea engineering.
“Of course, we recognise that oil and gas will continue to be a part of the energy mix for some time. We will continue to promote investment in upstream. We all have to work together to enable the transition from oil and gas intensive energy mix to a balanced with more renewables,” she said.
Also Read: National Energy Services Reunited Corp. announces multiple contract awards in Bahrain
The British envoy pledged Britain’s commitment to supporting Nigerian businesses, while describing Nigeria’s business environment as the most interesting and most dynamic.
She also said Britain had high ambition for its trade partner-nations like Nigeria while proposing four areas Nigeria must look into in order to tackle her many bad barriers to investment.
These areas, according to her, are “standardising regulatory reforms, ensuring sanctity of contracts, resolving uncertainties around tax regime, and fourthly, ensuring a dependable independent judiciary.”