President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed that appropriate reforms and policies to boost national revenue from oil and gas production would soon be released as part of measures to diversify the country’s income streams.
The reforms, he said, would include the removal of bureaucratic bottlenecks created by multiple government agencies that currently impede the operations of companies in the oil and gas sector.
He said this at separate meetings with delegations from Exxon-Mobil and the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG), yesterday at the Presidential Villa.
The President said that his government will also give priority attention to the security of oil and gas installations as well as maritime security in its bid to boost national earnings from the sector.
“It is the responsibility of the Federal Government to secure the environment. The vandalism of oil installations and pipelines, piracy, oil theft and the fall in the international price of oil have made our economic situation very disturbing.
“This government will do all within its powers to secure the environment and encourage more investments in the oil sector,” President Buhari said, adding that his administration will ensure that Nigeria’s oil and gas industry becomes more globally competitive.
Assuring the NLNG delegation of his administration’s full support for plans to expand its production capacity, the President regretted that political squabbles and interference in the past had prevented the country from attaining its full potentials.
“Today, we are celebrating six trains. It could have been 12 trains if all had gone according to plan,” he said.
Earlier, the Managing Director of NLNG, Mr. Babs Omotowa, requested the President’s support for Train 7 of the NLNG, which, he said, would create additional 18,000 construction jobs and an additional $3 billion dividend to government when operational.
He also solicited the President’s intervention in reducing the number of multiple government agencies around the plant that have made its business globally uncompetitive.
The NLNG delegation also included the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Joseph Dawha.
The Exxon-Mobil delegation was led by its Managing Director, Mr. Nolan O’Neal.
(Sun News)
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