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| Photo Credit: Iken |
Among the solutions proposed by oil and gas experts yesterday in Abuja to address the country's elusive oil sector and skyrocketing petroleum product prices were the need to lower Nigeria's high cost of governance, embrace local petroleum product refining, create quick fixes for crude oil thefts and vandalism, as well as a sustainable and diversified mass transportation system.
While subsidies, currently hovering about N6 trillion, were being paid, huge lines of drivers jostled for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in Abuja and other parts of the country.
According to various experts who spoke at the Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference, the Federal Government must first walk the talk by bringing down the cost of governance before asking the public to undergo hardship in order to advance the nation, particularly in the area of subsidy payment.
The security situation in the nation, which includes theft and vandalism, was also forewarned to continue harming the economy and deterring investment needed to address issues in the upstream and downstream sectors.
The dependence on PMS and the current downstream sector architecture, according to Tunji Oyebanji, a former leader of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), will not develop the country.
“Government must act in accordance with its words. When you are asking people to shoulder a heavy load, you cannot continue to operate at a given level without explicitly attempting to minimize the cost of governance, what you spend, and what you spend money on, he added.
Oyebanji lamented the nation's decades of opportunities being lost and stated that it never acts until there is a large deficit.
He believed that urgent action was necessary rather than contemplating the availability of appropriate local refining capability.
“We also need to do some other things to make it possible,” Oyebanji said. Therefore, I believe that significant investment in mass transit is essential. I’m referring to ferries. I’m referring to railroad tracks.
“Let’s just use Lagos as an example. Imagine a ferry that has a 3000 person per hour capacity. Think about the traffic that would be reduced and the benefits to the populace. With Lagos’ enormous population, consider how long it has taken to even create a rail system. There are many more things that could have been done much more easily to lessen this so-called dependence on PMS and everyone driving their cars on a daily basis.
Additionally, he added, “We need to make big investments in other alternative sources, such as CNG and LPG, but once again, the economics have to be sound.
During the event, Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) declared that it would continue to increase the region's access to cooking gas.
The current NLNG Train 7 project will allow Nigeria LNG Ltd.'s Chief Executive Officer, Phillip Mshelbila, to investigate the supply side, infrastructure, and commercial or economic framework needed to manage the construction of gas pipelines.
The ability to exchange currencies so that equipment may be imported in dollars while maintaining a revenue stream that is mostly in naira, according to Roger Brown, chief executive officer of Seplat Energy Plc, is still a worry for the industry.
Gbite Falade, the managing director of Niger Delta E&P, bemoaned the adverse investment climate in the country and in particular the escalating degree of insecurity in his remark.
The government ought to take a step back and allow private investors to enter the market, he said, pointing out that the pricing system causes problems for investors and deters financiers.
Falade says that unless the country utilises its resources and promotes investors so that products are refined domestically, the current losses may continue.