We will move Nigeria beyond oil export, says Kachikwu

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, says Nigeria will move beyond oil export and improve its economy.

Kachikwu, who said this in the 2016 Nigerian National Petroleum Draft Policy, also clarified that the aim of restructuring the sector was to ensure efficiency and business enhancement.

“Our vision is to move Nigeria beyond crude oil exports into value added activities in oil, namely refining and petrochemical industries.

“The vision is also to expand from oil into gas-based industrialisation, based on the as-yet largely untapped large gas reserves in Nigeria.”

According to Kachikwu, a strong commercially viable and significant refining sector is an essential part of the Nigerian Petroleum Policy.

He stated that there were three main reasons for the new petroleum policy, which included the fact that the previous policy had not worked, the world had changed and prices had collapsed.

He also stated that the new vision of value adding activities was part of the reasons.

In the report, the Minister of State noted that the negative impact of the oil industry was a major concern in the Niger-Delta.

Kachikwu listed the causes of environmental damage to include sabotage or theft, equipment failure or human error and failure of operators to operate according to required standards of good oilfield practice.