Page 20 - Nigeria one mag 4 edition en

Busari, who was at the time, the Director overseeing the Office of “We have set up an oil and gas
the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, had explained that investments promotion office, which will
having an investment promotion office in the ministry was a act as a one-stop-shop for oil and gas
strategic milestone to get investors to put their money in investors”. “This centre is being initiated
Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. He had also stressed that the in collaboration with the industry
initiative would come in handy to businesses, given the country’s regulators to create a culture of business
enormous oil and gas deposits, adding that the inauguration of enablement for would-be investors. We
the committee was the continuation of the approval granted by are also in the process of bringing up
the Sylva on 22 June, 2022. But speaking at the OPTS 60th policy guidelines on all aspects of the PIA
anniversary dinner, Sylva explained that as the government seeks 2021, to guide the industry and lead to
to maximise the value from the nation’s crude oil, gas, which had this production growth. It is not an
been declared as Nigeria’s transition fuel would help in the exaggeration to say that the ability of this
government’s drive to address the country’s energy poverty status industry to meet the world's energy needs
in power, transportation, agriculture and other critical sectors to without damaging the environment will
fully industrialise the nation. According to him, achieving the determine the trajectory of the 21st
goals would therefore require the creation of a conducive century.” Decrying Nigeria’s under-
business environment to attract all the available FDI in the performance in oil production due to the
sector. escalating oil theft and vandalism of
He further explained that the investment promotion centre was upstream assets, the minister said the
initiated in collaboration with the industry regulators to create a country’s oil production decline reached
culture of business enablement for would-be investors, adding an all-time low at a time the price of the
that the ministry was also in the process of bringing up policy black gold also spiked to an all-time high
guidelines on all aspects of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in five years.
2021, to guide the industry. Owing to the multiple challenges facing
Sylva said, “With formulation of deliberate policies that will the country’s oil sector, Sylva said the
encourage investments and enhance businesses in all streets.” industry’s situation could, “best be
In attracting this needed investments and as alluded in the summarised as prospect good, unstable,
Petroleum Industry Act, the ministry, in fulfillment of its unsuitable, with security, technical issues,
mandate as enshrined in the PIA, wants to promote an enabling reduced investment and assets litigation
environment for investment in the Nigerian petroleum industry, identified as the mitigating factors.” He
observed that Nigeria’s upstream oil
sector had never witnessed this scale of
destruction of facilities before. He said
with over 265 illegal refineries existing
and being operated within the Shell
Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)
corridor alone, efforts to bring them
down had only resulted in creating new
ones.
In managing this ugly menace and to
restore the confidence of government’s
partners, Sylva noted that the federal
government was taking a lead on the
issue of security of the oil and gas
industry using a wider approach to the
matter. “All these efforts are being made
to achieve the 2016 highs of oil
production”, he stated.
Sylva Timipre,Minister of State for Petroleum Resources

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