By Chioma Obinagwam
There is need to take strategic actions to make Nigeria an investor-friendly destination for oil and gas companies.
Confiance News gathered that it is the submission of the Chief Executive of Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe during the occasion of the courtesy visit of the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Felix Omatsola Ogbe in Abuja.
“We must vacate entry barriers for investment. This is common logic when there is high competition. We need to work together to lower barriers and do everything possible to motivate investment,” Komolafe pointed.
The NUPRC’s boss highlighted the important role of the NCDMB in the operations of the upstream sector of the petroleum industry and commended the new Executive Secretary for seeking closer cooperation among the agencies. He described the move as expedient, especially at a time when every hand is on the deck towards increasing Nigeria’s crude oil production, earning higher revenue for the nation, and reviving the economy.
He remarked that the Nigerian upstream sector is facing severe pressures because of the low crude oil production and lack of investment in recent years.
Reacting to the NUPRC, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB reiterated the need for teamwork and partnership amongst various agencies under the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, to sustain the growth of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
He hinted that collaboration would create an enabling environment that would attract investments and new projects into the sector, helping to create employment opportunities for youths and address insecurity in the polity.
While noting that Local Content development would be stunted if projects and investments in the oil and gas sector do not flourish, the Executive Secretary suggested that NCDMB and NUPRC should organize workshops to examine and resolve concerns identified by investors as obstacles to investments and new projects.
He hinted that investment decisions by international oil and gas companies are often affected by their assessment of their Return on Investments (ROI).
The NUPRC boss congratulated the Executive Secretary on his appointment, noting that the industry was pleased to have a person of his pedigree as the new helmsman of the NCDMB.
Komolafe assured that his organization would partner closely with the NCDMB to achieve some of the programmes it had planned for 2024.
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