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Explorationists harp on diversification

By Roseline Okere
01 November 2017   |   4:11 am
The Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), has emphasized the need for the Federal Government to heed the call to diversify the economy.

NAPE President, Abiodun Adesanya

• Holds 35th international conference, exhibition
The Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), has emphasized the need for the Federal Government to heed the call to diversify the economy.

According to the NAPE President, Abiodun Adesanya, would help to reduce the effects of global oil price volatility on the economy.

According to Adesanya, Nigeria currently maintains an economically unstable negative net energy trade balance in which the nation’s exports virtually all the crude oil produced, and imports a substantial part of its refined petroleum products needs. It also underutilises other resources such as bitumen, coal, lignite, and shale oil, thereby leading to a mono commodity economy that is largely dependent on crude oil export.
Against the backdrop of low oil price, dwindling oil revenue, there have been strident calls for economic diversification from the monolithic economy and absolute dependence on oil into other areas to sustain revenue generation

He said the inevitable slowing down of the economy occasioned by the adverse crude oil prices regime still persists. “Before Nigeria officially acknowledged we were in a recession, low oil prices had resulted in the slowdown in projects as well as the stopping of exploration activity in some fields. In the upstream, there had been a sharp cut-back in projects with companies instead, focusing on short term activities and production sustenance.

“The Nigerian economy has not diversified at the anticipated rate. Contributions from non-oil sector still remains low, but signs of improvement have begun to show,”he said.

A recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report indicates that a diversified economy based on several sources of income is more resilient and able to recover faster from different shocks as any weakness in any particular sector can be mitigated through the strong performance in other sectors.

Giving an update of the association’s 35th international conference holding from November 19 to 23, in Lagos, Adesanya said NAPE will deliberate on major critical issues to address challenges in Nigeria’s Energy industry.

Themed: “A Roadmap for Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry in a Diversifying Economy,” the conference will examine survival strategies for petroleum exploration and exploitation in a challenging environment, and the effectiveness of existing policies to drive growth in order to proffer development initiatives.

Nigeria currently maintains an economically unstable negative net energy trade balance in which the nation exports virtually all the crude oil produced and imports a substantial part of its refined petroleum products needs while under-utilising other energy sources such as bitumen, coal, lignite, and shale oil, thereby leading to a mono commodity economy that is largely dependent on crude oil export.

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