People & Money

PIB: Osinbajo Says Nigeria’s Gas Fiscal Provisions Most Attractive in Africa

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has projected that the fiscal provisions for gas business in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would be one of the most attractive in Africa, even as he tasked policymakers, geoscientists, engineers and other service providers to come up with ways to develop Nigeria’s hydrocarbon reserves.

Osinbajo spoke on Tuesday while declaring open the 38th Annual International Conference of the National Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), which has “Accelerating Growth in Nigeria’s Hydrocarbon Reserves: Emerging Concepts, Challenges and Opportunities’’ as its theme.

Represented by Chief Timipre Sylva, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, the Vice President pointed out that low prices and OPEC+ crude oil production curtailment had largely resulted in lower revenue generation for the Federal Government.

He however maintained that the government was committed to growing Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves, which currently stand at 36.89 billion barrels of crude oil and 203.16 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Also Read: Coronavirus Vaccine Possible by Jan 2021, Lifts Hopes of Economic Rebound and Oil Price

“In order to grow our reserves, we have proposed fiscal incentives that will attract investments in all our basins in the PIB,” Osinbajo said.

“In addition, the fiscal provisions for gas business will be one of the most attractive in Africa. Therefore, opportunities abound for geoscientists, engineers, and numerous other service providers in the shortest time to come.

“In order to significantly grow our hydrocarbon reserves, we need to invest immensely in research and development so as to support the industry.

Also Read: PIB and Marginal Fields Allocation to Boost Nigerian Oil Reserves to 40 Billion Barrels

“We need effective synergy and collaboration between policymakers, academic institutions, professional bodies, oil and gas industry players, and the research and development centres. They need to come up with innovative ideas and technology for cost-effective exploratory and drilling activities.’’

Osinbajo added that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prices of crude oil had made it imperative to reduce the unit cost of production to 10 dollars per barrel, stressing that all hands must be on deck to achieve the target.

Among other things, the proposed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will create an opportunity for Nigerian and foreign investors to buy shares in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). It will also modify deep-water royalties, which were revised in 2019, and establish new industry regulatory bodies.

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