…DPR asks Africa to rise up and harness…
Olusola Bello
Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) has said that it wants to collaborate and invest in opportunities across the entire value chain of the oil and gas industry in Africa.
Nicolas Odinuwe, Chairman of PETAN, stated this in his welcome address at the commencement of the 5th edition of the Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC) held virtually with the theme, “Post-Covid-19 from Global Crises to Global Opportunity.”
He said PETAN has been able to show that indigenous service companies can deliver, and that the association has become a group that advocates, suggest and guide government decisions in such places like the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), and they also understand that there is a need to interact, dialogue and collaborate to bridge any gap in the industry.
He therefore implore African governments to create enabling environments such as introducing some key incentives and necessary policies that will attract massive investments into the African oil and gas industry.
According to him, what has worked for them in Nigeria shows that there are people who sees the values of the PETAN. He stated further that there a lots of values that will be derived when governments work with indigenous companies.
“Ultimately, PETAN is fighting for Nigerian entrepreneurs and we will continue to do it and whenever there are new technologies in the oil and gas industry, you will see PETAN companies bringing these technologies into Nigeria.We drive the industry in a way that will benefit our people but sometimes it is only government policies that affect the way we operate.
The PETAN President, said in Nigeria, there is the petroleum training institute and universities, but the problem is ‘Intra-regional Collaboration. “We will continue to create awareness for the industry to reach its full potential.”
Meanwhile, Sarki Auwalu, director of, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has urged Africa to rise to the challenge of harnessing its oil and gas reserves for the development of the continent.
He said: “Indeed, for a better and secured future, Africa must rise to the challenge of harnessing its over 125 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and 625 trillion cubic feet of natural gas for the development of the continent.
“Africa must not be cowed to abandon its quest to grow its economies by the ‘doomsday’ narrative of ‘end of oil’ era and jettison the development of its resources.
“Africa’s resources must be used to fuel Africa’s development; the same
way other continents utilized dirtier fossil fuels to fuel their economic transformation.
“To achieve this, we must take our destinies in our hands and join hands across all spectrum – technical, economic, legal, commercial, operational, financial, and political – drive regional energy security and economic sustainability.”
According to him, Nigeria recognizes the reality of energy transition and is committed to accelerated development of its petroleum resources through the emplacement of an appropriate legal framework to support upstream asset acquisition, development, production, and exports.
“However, we are putting increased emphasis on midstream investments and gas-focused infrastructural development for domestic value addition via the Refinery revolution and Decade-of-Gas Initiatives.
“The Decade-of-Gas Initiative will leverage Nigeria’s 203 TCF of natural gas reserves for domestic gas supply (Gas-To-Power), Alternative fuels (Gas-To-People) and Gas Based Industrialisation (Gas-To-Derivatives) elements of the Gas-fired Industrial economy agenda within this decade.
“All these efforts will significantly increase the quantum of in-country value addition to drive the contribution of oil and gas to Gross Domestic Production, employment generation and poverty eradication,” he said.
Also, Simbi Wabote, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), said the coronavirus pandemic provided a sad realization of the importance of local content in the oil and gas industry.
Wabote said the NCDMB would continue to deploy strategies to promote local content in Nigeria and within the African continent to provide jobs, support businesses, and protect investments.
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