Nigeria allocates $ 3.45 bn to petroleum sector

Some $ 3.45 bn or 21.56 % of Nigeria's projected foreign exchange earnings in 1998, has been allocated to the petroleum sector, according to finance minister Anthony Ani.
Nigeria anticipates total foreign exchange earnings of $ 16.03 bn this year.
Ani said that $ 600 mm of the money would be spent on imports of petroleum products.
The federal government had said last year, at the peak of the fuel shortage, that petroleum products would continue to be imported until the nation's refineries were properly refurbished.
A total of $ 1.08 bn was spent between July and September last year, to import 1.33 bn litres of fuel in 33 cargoes, Ani said.
He also explained that $ 2.5 bn had been approved to fund the federal government's 57 % participating interest in the seven companies operating joint ventures with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (NNPC).
The seven companies are Shell, Mobil, Chevron, Elf, Agip, Texaco and Pan Ocean.
Industry operators, however, said the $ 2.5 bn approved for joint venture operations this year was still insufficient to meet their funding requirements.
The minister also confirmed that $ 200 mm had been allocated to the NNPC for the turnaround maintenance of the 110,000 bpd Kaduna refinery, although he did not say if the money had actually been released yet.
This year, $ 118 mm would be released to the NNPC for priority projects, which include turnaround maintenance of other refineries and the rehabilitation of the country's product pipeline network, he noted.