1 month ago
14 ARTICLE AD
Special Adviser to the President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Olu Verheijen
Nigeria is aiming for growth in its oil and gas production, targeting four million barrels per day of oil and 10 billion cubic feet of gas by 2030.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Energy and Head of the Energy Office of the Presidency, Olu Verheijen, on her official X handle on Thursday.
She added that this goal is backed by new fiscal incentives aimed at boosting investment in the oil and gas sector.
President Bola Tinubu recently announced these incentives, which include a waiver on Value Added Tax for gas, diesel, and related equipment, along with tax credits for new investments in deepwater oil and gas production.
Verheijen emphasised the need for these reforms noting, “Since Nigeria’s last deepwater project – the Egina project was approved in 2013, International Oil Companies operating in Nigeria have committed more than $82bn in deepwater investments to other countries that they deem more competitive.
“Over the next few years, they plan to spend another $90bn to develop deepwater oil and gas projects. This is the pool of funds that our reforms are targeting, and we intend to unlock between $5bn to $10bn of new investments in Nigeria in the near- to medium-term.”
She stated that these reforms aim to create many new jobs, increase foreign exchange earnings, and improve tax revenues adding that with approximately 76 per cent of Nigeria’s gas resources still untapped, the government hopes to enhance energy security and stimulate economic growth.
Commenting, the the Chairman of the Oil Producers Trade Section, Osagie Okunbor, shared her optimism, saying, “For the first time in a long while, we’re seeing positive momentum in our industry in Nigeria, thanks to the Presidential Directives and the government’s deliberate efforts to engage the service sector.
“The level of coordination and policy coherence we’re seeing today is unprecedented. The accelerated pace of reforms over the past year has renewed our interest in Nigeria.”
The PUNCH reports that the Joint Taskforce Operation Delta Safe in the Niger Delta has said daily crude oil output had reached 1.7 million barrels per day.
