THERE is need for the federal government to institute an investor-friendly fiscal regime and pricing policy that would stimulate growth and a catalyst for national development, the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), has said.
NGA, in a communiqué signed by its President, Chima Ibeneche, and Chairman, Conference Planning Committee, Akachukwu Nwokedi, stated that this would assist the government in its quest of making Nigeria a regional hub for gas-based industries.
The stakeholders added in the communiqué, which was issued at the end of the association conference recently in Abuja, that the government should engage the organised private sector and other stakeholders in a comprehensive, inclusive dialogue and negotiations of the contents, direction and intention of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) so as to address all differences and ultimately enact a law which would reflect national aspirations as well as protect all stakeholders’ interests.
They also stressed the need for the government to begin a reduction in its commercial participation in gas and power sectors and instead focus more on regulatory supervision and the role of providing favourable environment to investors in the value chain.
Expressing delight at the progress made in the Gas Revolution Initiative, the conference observed that a lot of work still needed to be done, especially against the background of intense global competition in the gas industry.
It therefore recommended that government should expedite the development of infrastructure to allow transportation of gas to all parts of the country.
It added: “Government need to expedite action on the Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) on gas export projects so that the country could strengthen its position in the global gas export business and enhance its domestic gas utilisation.”
The conference however, observed that Nigeria has come a very long way in reforming the gas sector, stressing the need for the country to work towards utilizing its vast gas resources.
It stated: “With proven gas reserves of up to 18TCF and one third of Africa’s gas reserves, Nigeria qualified to be in the league of nations which had achieved gas-driven industrialization but has not fully exploited the opportunities to leverage these resources to achieve industrialisation.
“Although government had embarked on an extensive gas network infrastructure backbone across the east, west and northern parts of the country, the state of infrastructure and issues relating to fiscal, financing, pricing and regulatory framework were still major challenges to gas export, utilisation and penetration in the country. Even though the vision is to have major LNG export terminals in key coastal areas, the realisation of other plants has been slow pace.”
The conference commended the achievement being made in Nigerian Content Development, especially in job creation and human capacity development, since the enactment of the Nigerian Content Act.
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