The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, says the oil and gas sector has received approximately $7 billion investment pledge due to the new incentive frameworks introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Edun said this in a statement on Tuesday during the ministerial press briefing in Abuja.
He said that the investment had been dormant for years, awaiting the appropriate economic conditions for inflow.
What minister said
He noted that President Tinubu’s initiatives in the energy sector have now mobilized these investments, emphasizing that the policies are fostering prosperity and generating jobs.
He also highlighted the CNG-fueled conversion programmes as part of the administration’s policy framework to drive growth.
“And as it was mentioned earlier, the pivot thing to CNG is a government policy not just for vehicles but for generators. They have to be either CNG-fueled or solar-based or electric vehicles.
“That is the new incentive structure. And it continues also in the oil and gas sector. There has just been a new set of incentives that are encouraging new investments.
“We expect $7 billion worth of investment that have been sitting on the sideline to now come in. Similarly in other sectors.
“A stable, growing economy attracts investment that increases productivity, grows the economy further, create jobs and reduces poverty. That is the trajectory that Nigeria is now on,” Edun said.
Backstory
Earlier in March, Nairametrics had reported that President Bola Tinubu signed new executive orders aimed at enhancing the investment environment and establishing Nigeria as the top choice for investments in the oil and gas industry across Africa.
The president issued this policy directive following extensive engagements with major stakeholders in the sector.
The initiative focused on optimizing the contracting process to decrease the cycle time to six months.
What you should know
Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, like other sectors, has lacked sufficient capital investments over the years as a result of factors such as insecurity, oil theft, and inconsistency in policies, among others.
For instance, Nairametrics reported that the CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanne, said the company decided to invest a whooping sum of $6 billion in energy projects in Angola over Nigeria.
According to Pouyanne, TotalEnergies has not conducted oil exploration in the oil-rich Niger Delta region for 12 years.
In addition, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and other International Oil Companies (IOC) are looking to reshape its portfolio since producing oil in the Niger Delta is not in line with its health, security and environmental policies.