Will Nigeria ever move forward as Buhari unveils petroleum roadmap, says oil and gas critical for Nigeria’s growth

President Muhummadu Buhari has unveiled
Seven Big Wins, as part of short to medium
term strategy framework with robust
priorities to grow Nigeria’s oil and gas
sector.
The seven big wins to revamp and revive the
sector will focus on key areas including Niger
Delta development and security of the oil
producing region; policy and
regulation; business environment and
investment drive; transparency and
efficiency; stakeholder management and
international coordination; gas revolution,
refineries and local oil production capacity.
Unveiling the document in Abuja on
Thursday, the president noted that the oil
and gas sector was still a critical revenue
point for the country despite the drastic dip
in global crude oil prices at the international
market.
“As important as it is to ensure that
Agriculture, Solid minerals and other critical
sectors of the economy are supported to
grow and contribute more to the nation’s
economy, we still need a virile and efficient
oil and gas industry to take care of our
foreign exchange requirements,” he said.
From an average price of about $100 and
above per barrel two years ago, the price of
crude oil dropped to below $30 last year,
throwing the country into a tailspin in terms
of revenue to implement its policies and
programmes.
With an ambitious budget of N6.06 trillion
announced last year, the massive drop in oil
earnings left government scrambling for
funds to finance approved appropriations.
The situation became so bad that
government that government considered
selling some national asset to raise funds to
finance its business, amidst stiff oppositions
by Nigerians.
The situation worsened with a new wave of
sabotage of oil production facilities following
series of attacks by armed militant groups in
the Niger Delta led by the Niger Delta
Avengers.
Following the attacks, oil production and exports was cut to
almost half, from an average of 2.1 million barrels to about
1.1 million barrels, with the armed groups unwilling to
embrace dialogue on their demand for improved share of
the oil wealth to the oil producing communities.
The crisis in the oil producing region has forced oil
multinationals to reconsider their Nigerian operations. Some
of them are divesting from Nigeria, with a lot of their
workers, particularly those on contract employment, either
being sacked, or the renewal of their appointments put on
hold till further notice.
The Petroleum Industry Bill, which is supposed to address
legislative limitations of petroleum sector laws, has been
stalled at the National Assembly more than three years since
it was sent there by the executive.
At the unveiling of the roadmap on Thursday, the president
urged the Ministry of Petroleum to ensure that it delivered
on the expectations contained in the document to bring
about the speedy development of the oil and gas industry.
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, who gave
a breakdown of the big wins, said it was time for Nigeria to
take drastic steps to fix the sector.
The implementation of the wins would increase government
streams of income and ensure a zero tolerance level for
militancy in the Niger Delta, he said.
More later…