Oil & Gas Sector: Read What Buhari Promises To Do

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that his administration will undertake appropriate reforms and implement fresh policies in oil and gas production, in an aim to boost the nation’s income from the sector .

This Day reports that the president made statements at separate meetings with delegations from Exxon-Mobil and the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG).

According to Buhari, one of the reforms that will be undertaken by his administration is the removal of bureaucratic bottlenecks created by multiple government agencies that impede the operations of companies in the oil and gas sector.

In a statement issued by Femi Adesina, the president’s special adviser on media and publicity, Buhari noted that his government would also give priority attention to the security of oil and gas installations as well as maritime security.

“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,’’ Buhari said.

The president assured Nigerians that his administration would ensure that oil and gas industry becomes more globally competitive.

Speaking with the NLNG delegation, Buhari noted that his administration would support plans to expand the total production capacity of the company. However, he regretted that political hassles had prevented it from attaining its full potential.

“Today, we are celebrating six trains. It could have been 12 trains if all had gone according to plan,” he noted.

The NLNG delegation included Joseph Dawha, the group managing director of NNPC, and Babs Omotowa, the managing director of NLNG.

Asking Buhari’s support for Train 7 of the NLNG, Omotowa assured him that it would create an additional 18,000 jobs and an additional three billion dollars dividend to the government. He also asked for the president’s intervention in reducing the number of government agencies around the plant that have made its business globally uncompetitive.

- Naija