New policy to increase investments in Nigeria's oil, gas sector: minister
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E-mail Xinhua, July 27, 2017
LAGOS, July 26 (Xinhua) -- The new National Petroleum Policy will ultimately remove barriers affecting investment and development of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, said Wednesday.
The 100-page document was very comprehensive on all aspects of the oil industry, the minister said in a statement reaching Xinhua in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub.
Kachikwu also reiterated that the ministry was pushing for a refining processing environment to move away from exporting to refining petroleum products, given the volatility in crude oil price regime.
The set goals and strategies inherent in the new policy would promote a level-playing field between state-owned enterprises and the private operators in the sector, he added.
According to him, the policy defines the strategy of the government on Nigeria's oil resources.
"It establishes the medium to long-term targets for oil reserves growth, utilization and strategies to be pursued to ensure the successful implementation of the policy in accordance with Nigeria's national socio-economic development priorities," he added.
The minister said the policy also proposed for a fundamental reforms to improve the operational efficiency and performance of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
He said the document proposed the long-needed overhaul and modernization of the existing petroleum industry legislation.
According to him, the policy will be reviewed and updated periodically to ensure consistency in government policy objectives at all times.
He listed the main components of the policy to include governance, comprising legal and regulatory framework; industry structure, with proposal for establishment of a new National Oil Company of Nigeria (NOCN) and restructuring of NNPC into autonomous business units.
Other components of the policy included strategies to develop resources in the upstream sub-sector, development of the midstream operations, and downstream sub-sectors.
He said the policy also proposed measures to develop the national human resources, the sector with emphasis on local content and export skills development.
Nigeria's weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) had on July 19, approved the policy. Enditem
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