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| Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu |
The French government has announced that it has set aside
about €1bn to be invested in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, and that Nigeria
remains its first economic trading partner in Africa.
The France Ambassador to Nigeria, Denys Gauer, announced
this when the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, led a delegation to
his office in Abuja.
Gauer said the French Development Agency had put in place
about €1bn to encourage investors from his country to invest in the Nigeria oil
and gas sector, adding that the French government was also cooperating with the
Federal Government in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency.
He commended the Federal Government for stemming the
insecurity situation in the Niger Delta, noting that Total, a French
multinational oil and gas company, had significant investment equity in the
Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited and the Egina Project.
Gauer, however, expressed concern that some other French
companies were having challenges with the unclear fiscal policies in the oil
and gas sector in Nigeria.
He revealed that some French investors were currently
developing wind and solar energy in Katsina State.
Earlier in his address, Ughamadu said the NNPC was well
positioned and opened to investment opportunities from the French government
and investors.
He noted that with the significant scale down in pipeline
vandalism and insecurity, which had boosted oil production, global investors
such as the French government could now invest in renewable energy, gas and
power infrastructure development, pipeline construction, storage facility and
the direct sales and direct purchase of Nigeria’s crude oil grades.
Ughamadu said the NNPC, as the state owned oil and gas
corporation, had global operations and called for closer collaboration between
the French government and the corporation, especially in the area of consular
services in order to enable the NNPC top executives and staff meet their global
engagements.
He thanked the ambassador for the warm reception accorded
the NNPC delegation and assured him that the corporation was determined to
develop a robust business atmosphere for investors.
PUNCH
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