Nigeria earmarks $ 60 bn for gas development

The Federal Government has earmarked an estimated $ 60 bn to develop the gas sector of the economy over the next five years.
The investment is designed to expand infrastructure in the sector to boost domestic gas utilisation and export of its liquefied natural gas. Out of this amount, $ 20 bn will be deployed to the Brass Liquefied Natural Gas project; about $ 20 bn had been set aside for the domestic gas utilisation plan while about $ 10 bn will be deployed to strategic projects between now and the flare out date.

Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Gas Resources, Honourable Igochukwu Aguma, disclosed this at the opening of the Joint Public Hearing by the Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) and Gas Resources. The public hearing was in furtherance of the demand by the government and other stakeholders to compel the operators of these multi-billion dollar projects to take the issue of involving Nigerians in the execution of the projects.
Aguma said that given the share volume of these investments Nigeria cannot allow the multinationals who had dominated the sector for long to exclude Nigerian, adding that the hearing was to allow inputs to the amendment of the Nigerian Content Development Bill which seeks to develop local content through active participation by indigenous oil companies in these projects.

According to Aguma, given the realities of the global meltdown and its impact on the national economy, Nigeria must take active part in the exploitation of its abundant gas resources and will no longer allow the situation where the country takes the backstage.
"The essence of the bill is to advance Nigerian local content development. It is an issue that demands the attention of all stakeholders in the oil and gas industry and the present administration is committed to ensuring a vibrant oil and gas sector", he said.