BusinessDay 28 Feb 2018
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Wednesday <strong>28</strong> <strong>Feb</strong>ruary <strong>2018</strong><br />
04 BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556<br />
WEST AFRICA<br />
ENERGY intelligence<br />
Maximising Nigeria’s huge<br />
potential oil and gas sector<br />
feature<br />
CYNTHIA EGBOBOH, Abuja.<br />
plained that tackling the challenges of<br />
the industry, the State has embarked<br />
on reforms of the gas and power sector<br />
as the need power cannot be generated<br />
without gas.<br />
Moving forward, Wale opined that<br />
there is need for collaboration between<br />
the state and federal government to enhance<br />
effective policy and regulation in<br />
the industry.<br />
“In Lagos what we did was to embark<br />
on reforms for the power and gas sector,<br />
noting that we cannot generate the<br />
needed power without gas, so what the<br />
Lagos state governor has done is to put<br />
together the energy program aimed at<br />
achieving a 3000 mega-watt of electricity<br />
within the next 3-5 years”.<br />
However, the minister of petroleum,<br />
Ibe Kachikwu looking at the future<br />
identified the present challenges<br />
of the sector to include ineffective<br />
regulatory system, lack of transparency<br />
in operations, insecurity, cost of<br />
operation and policies yet to be implemented.<br />
Speaking on these challenges, the<br />
minister said that there is need to reevaluate<br />
the regulations governing the<br />
activities of the sector to make it attractive<br />
for investment stressing that there<br />
are some policies that are yet to be implemented.<br />
On security, the minister said that the<br />
government has put measures in place<br />
to address the insecurity issues faced in<br />
Niger delta explaining that measure has<br />
been put place to incorporate them into<br />
the oil sector initiative and the Nigeria<br />
economy as a whole.<br />
Experts also showed concern at the<br />
level of transparency with data in the in-<br />
Experts have suggested ways<br />
that Nigeria’s oil and gas sector<br />
could maximise its huge<br />
potential at the week-long<br />
Nigerian International Petroleum<br />
Summit-An African Petroleum<br />
Technology and Business Conference<br />
(APTC) held last week in Abuja.<br />
Don Obot Etibet, former minister<br />
of state for petroleum at the <strong>2018</strong> Nigeria<br />
International Summit explained<br />
that Nigeria oil and gas sector has for<br />
long been held down by politics, nepotism,<br />
corruption, and a host of others<br />
so much so that the industry grew<br />
around friendship, relationship and<br />
proxies and these led to doing things<br />
without following due processes.<br />
What should have been done properly<br />
was not done and it led to control by<br />
the government which needed someone<br />
to resist it.<br />
“What should have been done properly<br />
were not done and it led to control<br />
by the government”, Etibet said.<br />
Alex Neyin, Managing Director, GAC-<br />
MORK Nigeria Limited stressed that one<br />
of the things worth noting from the past<br />
is the instability of price which threatened<br />
the integrity of the management<br />
of the industry, identifying that Low oil<br />
price is a lesson to Nigeria and we must<br />
sustain the low price knowing that when<br />
prices are low profit will increase.<br />
Markson Fefegha, Commissioner<br />
of Mineral Resources, Bayelsa explained<br />
that with the recent crisis led<br />
by the Niger delta youths which resulted<br />
to the destruction of pipelines<br />
and losses, it is worth noting that the<br />
fiscal policy is not effective at the indigenous<br />
places where oil production<br />
are carried out.<br />
“There is therefore need for the development<br />
of a federal fiscal policy<br />
that will regulate the operations of<br />
both the state and federal players in<br />
the industry. When regulations are not<br />
properly communicated to the people<br />
in a way that it will benefit them, there<br />
is bound to bound to problems”, said<br />
Fefegha<br />
Oluwo Wale, commissioner for energy<br />
and mineral resources, Lagos exdustry<br />
noting that it is a major contributor<br />
to price fluctuation.<br />
Odulaja Dapo, Head, Data Service<br />
Department, Research Division OPEC,<br />
explained that Non-transparency with<br />
data in the energy industry is a major<br />
contributor to price fluctuation in the<br />
country.<br />
“The industry has gone through cycles<br />
of price fluctuation and this is not<br />
convenient for the producers and consumers<br />
alike. There is need to promote<br />
more data collection as the industry is<br />
becoming data intensive”.<br />
According to him, Africa should not<br />
be left behind in the contribution to data<br />
gathering initiative that was recently<br />
launched by OPEC and others adding<br />
that the initiative is being embraced by<br />
more countries but only few contribution<br />
from the Africa countries.<br />
L-R: Chizor Malize, managing partner, Brandzone Consulting LLC; Joseph Ezigbo, managing director, Falcon Corporation Limited; Dada Thomas,<br />
president, Nigeria Gas Association/managing director, Frontier Oil Ltd; Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, co-founder/executive eirector, Falcon Corporation<br />
Limited; Demola Adeyemi-Bero, chairman, Independent Petroleum Producers Group/ managing director, First E & P Ltd recently at the Nigeria<br />
International Petroleum Summit Abuja.
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