Government requires $10 billion for gas industrial park

The Federal Government has said that there are $10 billion investment opportunities for the Nigeria Gas Revaluation Industrial Park.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu who made this disclosure in his presentation at the China investors’ road-show 2016 yesterday in China, added that there is other opportunity to invest $6 to 8 billion to meet Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC’s) short term funding needs and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)’s cash call obligations.

Kachikwu said that the oil and gas sector is strategically important to the country as a whole and is undergoing critical reforms.

He listed areas to develop to include deep sea port, gas processing facility and integrated power solution.

Kachikwu said that there is opportunity to invest about $1.4 billion to 1.8 billion in intervention and rehabilitation projects as well as a collocated refinery.

Kachikwu, while speaking during the plenary of a special Investors’ Roundtable, which had in attendance over 200 Chinese investors with key focus on the Oil and Gas Sector reiterated that the road-show was organized as a follow up to the working visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to China in April.

He commended the efforts and resolve of the President whose steer and support in ensuring that there is a marked transformation of the oil and gas industry has inspired the management to work towards the institutionalizing of focus, accountability, commitment and transparency at the corporation.

It is worthy to note that with the huge success so far recorded on the road-show can be attributed to the leverage on Kachikwu’s leadership in the sector and over 30 years of contact in the industry, considering that he has had cause to relate with most of the companies that have indicated interest in investing in Nigeria and these relationships cultivated over the years has also yielded fruits in that the MOUs for most of the companies signifying interest in investing in the country’s oil and gas sector have been signed.

Additionally, the International Cooperation Commission (ICC) of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), in charge of implementing cooperation between Chinese governments, Foreign Governments and organizations have committed to developing an overarching master plan for the Nigerian oil and gas include that will include a detailed feasibility study of current status of existing infrastructure in the industry.

They will also develop bankable projects that would attract Chinese investors on this Government-to-Government platform. This initiative would move us to a much more profitable and efficient state. The master plan would form the basis of massive inflow of further investment from Chinese companies into the sector.

At the end of the plenary, Kachikwu expressed his gratitude to the Chinese Government and investors for the show of support which reflects the growing international confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector following major reform which has been overseen under his leadership as both Group Managing Director of NNPC and Minister of State, Petroleum Resources over the last 7 months and also the belief in the government and integrity of President Buhari by foreign governments and investors. Dr. Kachikwu further mentioned that the China Roadshow is the first of many investor road-hows intended for the raising of funds to support the Oil & Gas Infrastructure roadmap. Road shows have been slated for India and the Gulf State