The African Energy Chamber has announced its endorsement of the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) which will take place at the Abuja International Conference Centre on January 27-30, 2019.
The members of the Energy chamber, which include the majority of the international oil companies (IOCs), services companies and many African players will be in Nigeria to participate in the summit. The attending investor groups among the chamber’s members represent billions of dollars worth of inbound investments to the Nigerian oil & gas sector.
The NIPS is one of the best platforms to expand the intra-Africa energy cooperation, promote investments and generate new joint-venture and cooperation opportunities in Africa’s biggest oil-producing market.
The Executive Chairman of the Chamber, NJ Ayuk, in a statement, declared that “Foreign Investments into Nigeria’s oil & gas sector is a game changer for Nigerian and African businesses and the economy. We continue to be excited by this opportunity because many investors will gain a better understanding of today’s most critical issues, challenges, and opportunities facing the Nigerian oil & gas sector at this industry-driven conference. While there is a focus on oil, Nigeria is more of a gas economy and stands to do more with gas”.
Nigeria arguably has the world’s third known largest reserves of natural gas, and just as Qatar,(with the global largest reserves of natural gas) hopes to ramp up development operations and investments in this all-important industry.
“Nigeria has come out of its recession stronger and with a continuous push towards reforming its business environment and remains Africa’s biggest hydrocarbons market. Its ongoing reforms have strengthened its position as Africa’s prime oil & gas investment destination, and the NIPS will be the perfect platform to advance the country and its investors’ business agenda,” he added.
“The NIPS 2019 is designed to be Africa’s largest and most important industry platform,” said Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu in a message addressed to all participants. “It will provide linkage to the world for engineering and technological breakthroughs, major contract sign-offs, and side events.”
With an upcoming gas flare commercialization bid round, the Chamber notably invites stakeholders within the gas value chain to actively participate in the summit and seek opportunities within Nigeria’s untapped gas value chain.
From exploration & production to gas infrastructure, commercialization and distribution, Nigeria is the next gas frontier in Africa and offers tremendous potential for investment.
Nigeria’s petroleum industry is the largest in Africa with proven Oil and Gas reserves of 37 billion barrels (bbl) and 192 trillion cubic feet respectively. The sector contributes about 10% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product and accounts for 95% of all exports.
Given that Nigeria’s Gas reserves have remained largely untapped, the country is expected to make a shift towards becoming a major producer and exporter of Gas.
