Chairman, Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Clay Neff, who made this disclosure at the 2016 Business Forum organized by the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) in Lagos, said that repaying outstanding gas invoice arrears has become a serious challenge in the gas sector.
According to him, it is important to settle the outstanding debts and establish bankable credit support facilities for future gas sales.Without these assurances, he noted, it will be unreasonable to expect investors to commit additional investments to grow domestic gas supply. Neff stated that Nigeria’s inadequate gas infrastructure, has contributed to the inability to meet domestic gas demand. “Although some progress has been made recently, the growing demand of domestic gas calls for major investments in infrastructure”, he added.
He said that Nigeria’s huge untapped gas resources could underpin government’s vision to grow gas production for power generation and to support industrial uses.
To attract investment into the gas sector, Neff emphasized the need for a conducive business environment.
He listed the components of a conducive business environment include: having efficient and effective regulatory bodies, maintaining stable laws and policies, honoring contracts, eliminating structural factors that increase costs, and ensuring security of life and property.
He said that it is essential to have efficient and effective regulatory bodies to ensure transparent and timely approval of activities such as permits, license renewals, projects, and contracts.
“The Government agencies that regulate the petroleum industry often have duplicative and overlapping functions leading to unnecessary bureaucracy. For example, procurement, contracting approvals take up to thirty-six months, while in many countries similar processes take an average six months. This slows project development and increases costs,.
“There must be a solid tax and legal framework that leads to stable laws and policies in order to attract the required massive investments”, he said.
He emphasized the need for Nigeria to maintain its reputation for honoring contracts. “Businesses need to know with reasonable degree of certainty that contracts and agreements entered into in good faith will be honored, and where disputes arise, that there will be access to an independent and fair mechanism for a timely resolution.
“There is an opportunity for industry and Government to collaborate on opportunities to eliminate structural factors that increase operating and capital costs in the petroleum industry. Industry has made great strides to reduce costs where the opportunities are within their control. However, there is an untapped pool of cost reduction opportunities, which have the potential to position Nigeria as a more competitive basin in the global industry – as it should be given the quality of resources,
He stated: “To fast-track the development of these resources, Nigeria needs to focus on the five key areas highlighted today.
“Government policy should be directed at striking the right balance between seeing gas as a catalyst to drive economic development and as a commodity for revenue generation. This balance is necessary to encourage the required investments for gas development.
“When unlocked, these abundant resources can boost Nigeria’s economy by improving electricity generation, and creating jobs and new industries such as fertilizers, methanol and plastics. NATION
The
Kremlin says that both Russia and the US are ready to better coordinate
efforts to eliminate radical Islamists in Syria, following a telephone
conversation initiated by the Russian leader.
“Both sides have confirmed their readiness to increase military
cooperation between Russia and the US in Syria,” said a statement from
the Kremlin released on Wednesday evening. “It is also important to
resurrect the UN-mediated peace talks to arrive at a political solution
of the crisis.”
According to media reports last week, US officials have put forward a
proposal that would see Russian and US air forces conduct joint strikes
against Al-Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda branch in Syria. So far, Russia has
not commented on the reported initiative, which has supposedly been
endorsed by both the Department of State and the Pentagon.
Washington hopes that as well as confronting radicals, the plan will
help the two sides to agree on their definition of which forces should
be included in the ceasefire, which was adopted in February. Vladimir
Putin has repeatedly accused Al-Nusra of operating under the label of
“moderate” rebels, and he returned to the topic in the phone
conversation.
“Vladimir Putin called on his counterpart to separate, as soon as is
possible, the definitions of moderate forces from Al Nusra, and other
extremist groups,” said the statement.
Obama and Putin also discussed the smoldering conflicts in countries which previously formed part of the Soviet Union.
The Kremlin said that Obama “gave a positive evaluation of Russia’s
efforts” to mediate the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku and Yerevan have been caught up in conflict over
the territory since the late 1980s. It ‘froze’ in 1994 after a ceasefire
but violence broke out again in May this year. In June, St. Petersburg
hosted talks between the leaders of the two nations and Vladimir Putin.
Putin also returned to the topic of the Minsk agreements, concerning
Ukraine, and called on Kiev to follow the terms of the 18-month-old
treaty, which has still not been fully implemented. Specifically, he has
called for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to engage in “direct
dialog with Donetsk and Lugansk, carry out an amnesty, and award the
regions special autonomous status.”
- See more at:
http://www.sigmalive.com/en/news/international/146721/russia-and-us-agree-on-closer-military-cooperation-in-syria#.dpuf
The
Kremlin says that both Russia and the US are ready to better coordinate
efforts to eliminate radical Islamists in Syria, following a telephone
conversation initiated by the Russian leader.
“Both sides have confirmed their readiness to increase military
cooperation between Russia and the US in Syria,” said a statement from
the Kremlin released on Wednesday evening. “It is also important to
resurrect the UN-mediated peace talks to arrive at a political solution
of the crisis.”
According to media reports last week, US officials have put forward a
proposal that would see Russian and US air forces conduct joint strikes
against Al-Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda branch in Syria. So far, Russia has
not commented on the reported initiative, which has supposedly been
endorsed by both the Department of State and the Pentagon.
Washington hopes that as well as confronting radicals, the plan will
help the two sides to agree on their definition of which forces should
be included in the ceasefire, which was adopted in February. Vladimir
Putin has repeatedly accused Al-Nusra of operating under the label of
“moderate” rebels, and he returned to the topic in the phone
conversation.
“Vladimir Putin called on his counterpart to separate, as soon as is
possible, the definitions of moderate forces from Al Nusra, and other
extremist groups,” said the statement.
Obama and Putin also discussed the smoldering conflicts in countries which previously formed part of the Soviet Union.
The Kremlin said that Obama “gave a positive evaluation of Russia’s
efforts” to mediate the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku and Yerevan have been caught up in conflict over
the territory since the late 1980s. It ‘froze’ in 1994 after a ceasefire
but violence broke out again in May this year. In June, St. Petersburg
hosted talks between the leaders of the two nations and Vladimir Putin.
Putin also returned to the topic of the Minsk agreements, concerning
Ukraine, and called on Kiev to follow the terms of the 18-month-old
treaty, which has still not been fully implemented. Specifically, he has
called for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to engage in “direct
dialog with Donetsk and Lugansk, carry out an amnesty, and award the
regions special autonomous status.”
- See more at:
http://www.sigmalive.com/en/news/international/146721/russia-and-us-agree-on-closer-military-cooperation-in-syria#.dpuf
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