President Muhammadu Buhari
…Successful Marginal Field Bid Round with signing of the Petroleum Industry Act
…Decade of Gas initiative actualized with prosperous future for Nigerians
Speaking at the opening ceremony of Africa’s foremost energy industry event, Nigeria International Energy Summit (N.I.E.S), President Mohammadu Buhari, disclosed that the Federal Government through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources together with all its Parastatals have done a great job sustaining the summit since inception in 2018.
“This is quite commendable and something to be proud of. More importantly, the summit has been of great value in terms of policy input for government and business development resource for the private sector.”
The President said year 2021 was a milestone for the Nigeria’s energy sector as it witnessed a number of record-breaking activities. Three of these activities stand out: first, the successful conclusion of the Marginal Fields Bid Round; second, the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) seeing the light of the day, and the third is the Decade of Gas initiative.
He made it known that both the Marginal fields bid round and the Petroleum Industry Act surmounted over two-decade challenges in the doldrums before they saw the light of the day. For the Decade of Gas initiative, it holds a promise of a prosperous Nigeria for Nigerians.
“You might ask; why would the successful conclusion of the Marginal Fields Bid Round be such a big deal when the world is moving away from fossil fuels? The answer is simple; awarding the marginal fields gives Nigeria the opportunity to speed up its fossil fuel exploitation and make good use of the resources for the betterment of the country rather than abandon the huge oil and gas reserves in the ground.”
He maintained that crude oil prices are on the rise again after turning negative in April 2020 which is a great opportunity for the country. With the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in place, there should be no excuses. The enabling investment environment which has been the bane of the industry has been taken care of by provisions in the PIA. There is now a level of certainty for the regulatory, administrative and fiscal framework and the legitimate grievances of host communities most impacted by activities of the industry has been addressed by the Act.
According to the President, “to demonstrate our seriousness, this administration did not waste time with the implementation of PIA. We moved quickly and scrapped the existing agencies and replaced them with new ones. We have inaugurated their new Chief Executives too.”
He stated further: “We also ensured the incorporation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). The NNPCL is a limited liability company now and our target is to make it the biggest, the most capitalized and the most profitable company in the whole of Africa.”
The Decade of Gas initiative as a major objective, remains the transformation of Nigeria into a gas-based industrialised nation through enhanced and accelerated gas revolution.
The government will ensure further optimal exploitation and utilization of the country’s vast Natural Gas resources. Given the country’s potential of about 600 trillion cubic feet, Natural Gas has the enormous potential to diversify and grow Nigeria’s economy.
“We are fully aware that energy transition raises the bar in terms of environmental, social and governance demands. We do not have to panic. We are already building blocks and bricks that will ensure seamless energy transition as the country joins in the race for net zero carbon emission.”
Due to the country’s enormous gas potentials, the President added, that the current administration declared Natural Gas as the transition fuel for Nigeria. Without doubt, Natural Gas ticks all the boxes and Nigeria is prepared to face the challenge of the rising global demand for cleaner energy sources.
He urged the summit to develop smart home-grown goals for the country’s energy transition.
“We are waiting to deliberate on the strategy paper from this summit and incorporate critical parts of it into government’s policies where necessary.”
“Finally, I wish to commend the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, all her Parastatals and the organisers of this summit for delivering once again another world class summit.”
“It is, therefore, my privilege and honour to declare the 5th edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit open and I wish you fruitful deliberations.”
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