By Ebi Alexander – Yenagoa
The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, says the Federal Government has adopted a strategic action plan to immortalise the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantity in the country by completing the Oloibiri Oil and Gas Museum and Research Center in Oloibiri before leaving office.
Speaking through the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, during the 10th Practical Nigerian Content, PNC, Conference in Yenagoa, Buhari said the project currently being developed jointly by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF and Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, and the Bayelsa State Government was intended to industrialise Bayelsa State.
He said that other strategic actions by the federal government to industrialise Bayelsa State included the various oil and gas investments now crystallising in various parts of the State like the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGAPS), the Brass Petroleum Products Terminal Limited (BPPT), the Brass Fertilizer Project and Methanol Plant, Gas Processing Plant, Modular Refinery to mention but some.
Chief Sylva, who was represented by the Director Human Resources and Management in the ministry, Dr. Famous Eseduwo, said ‘that PNC has continued to grow every year because NCDMB has consistently broken new grounds with the implementation of the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.
“The great accomplishments of the Board as well as the activities of other key agencies under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources have positioned our Ministry as a top performer in the Presidential Scorecard, assessed by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
“I therefore enjoin you to continue on your commendable upward trajectory and to stay focused on the implementation of the Nigerian Content 10-Year Strategic Roadmap to grow Nigerian Content to the targeted level of 70% by 2027.
“There is no question that President Muhammadu Buhari has booked his place on the bright side of history, particularly of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry ensuring the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act into law after over 20 years of debates and disagreements of the shape of the law.
“Signing the Bill into law in August is a watershed event in the annals of Nigeria’s petroleum industry which has literally rolled away the cloud of uncertainty that has hindered investments into the industry for so long.
“Hence, we took quick and decisive steps by establishing the Board of the NNPC Limited, constituted the management teams for the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority.
“Government expects that with the PIA now in place and supported by the enabling structures to ease doing business, new Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) should begin to happen rapidly in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
“With over $42billion (USD) worth of investment agreement signed by various Nigerian entities at the just concluded Intra African Trade Fair (IATF) in South African, there is strong optimism that so many new projects would soon commence in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry.
“We are proud of the FPSO Integration facility that was developed in Lagos on the back of Total’s Egina Deepwater project. This facility is the only one in sub-Saharan Africa. We eagerly look forward to getting a similar legacy project from the ongoing Nigeria LNG Train 7 Project.
“The Federal Government is committed to support and promote investments in gas as Nigeria’s transition fuel. This is the basis for Nigeria’s Decade of Gas Initiative, launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in March 2021.
“This initiative feeds and helps our ministry to materialise extant gas policies in our Ministry like the National Gas Expansion program, the Gas Network Code and Flares Commercialization Program.”
