The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has wooed investors to invest in Nigeria, saying government policies have secured the right environment for them to thrive.
Lokpobiri, who spoke at the CERAWeek by S&P Global in Houston, Texas, the United States of America, said Nigeria’s crude oil is one of the best in the world.
He specifically said that his ministry has held talks with major International Oil Companies (IOCs) such as Shell, Chevron, Total, Eni, and ExxonMobil.
“And you know, Nigeria’s crude is one of the best in the world. I believe that the message is syncing well and all of them have made commitments to say, look, when they are prioritizing investment destinations, Nigeria will be the preferred destination,” the minister told Channels Television on the sidelines of the conference.
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According to him, Africa’s most populous nation has not witnessed any form of disruption in the upstream sector for over a decade.
“Before now, Nigeria wasn’t seen to be an attractive destination for investment. So instead of coming to Nigeria, they went to other parts of the world. But we have assured them that for the past 15 years or more, Nigeria hasn’t experienced any upstream disruption, and the facts are there for anybody to see.
“And what we are saying is that it’s important that in view of what is going on in the world, it’s better for them to come to Nigeria where we have reforms, you know, in terms of our fiscals, we have clarity, we have certainty, we have stability of regulations and legal framework for them to come and invest,” he said.
Lokpobiri, a former lawmaker representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District, also spoke on the state of the downstream sector and unveiled plans by his ministry to improve it.
He explained that Nigeria’s participation at the conference is to make the country the preferred destination point for investors.
“The Nigerian delegation came with just one message that Nigeria is ready for investment. There’s a new Nigeria, where investment is welcome as an alternative, you know, to what is happening in other parts of the world.
“We had the privilege of appearing in several panels and one of the first issues were raised in the first panel which took place at the groove is the world has to look for alternative locations for energy investments so that happens in the Middle East or in the Gulf region, in case it happens tomorrow, there is a balanced global investment destination that will be able to stabilize the demand and supply of energy in the world.
“So yesterday we told them Nigeria is ready for investment, we have reforms that are globally competitive. We have a new environment we are creating, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that has brought back all the investments that were hitherto not available for the past over a decade in Nigeria, and they are listening.
“As part of the follow-up, I had bilateral with Chevron, I had bilateral with ENI, I had bilateral with other companies, and we’re telling them just one message – come to Nigeria to invest instead of investing in locations where the security may not be guaranteed. Nigeria is offering an alternative to global investment in the energy sector,” Lokpobiri added.
