The Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) has said that government policy initiatives and collaboration with industry stakeholders are needed to bridge the gaps in the oil and gas sector.
The Chairman of PETAN, Wole Ogunsanya, during an official visit by the representatives of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC), led by its Chairman, Ugo Amadi, expressed concerns that Nigeria is currently losing a lot due to its inability to produce up to its oil production capacity.
Wole added that if Nigeria could retain between 60 to 70 per cent of the oil and gas value chain in the country, the nation stands a better chance of emerging as one of the top 20 economies in the world.
He added that the country is under-producing to the tune of at least 500,000 barrels per day, which he referred to as a huge loss to the country.
He noted that the losses would not have been there if there had been full in-country retention of values and beneficiation across all the chains of the industry.
To retain those values in-country at every stage of the oil and gas process, Wole said that a lot of gaps needed to be filled through government policy initiatives and collaboration with industry stakeholders.
He said: “Essentially, if Nigerian organisations are involved in taking oil out to a refinery owned by Nigerians and refining it.”
if we have petrochemicals refining the gas and the product; if we are taking that gas and processing it in power plants; if we run pipelines to connect all those power plants, this country will be one of the top 20 economies in the world.
“And we believe very strongly that there is no better prescription for Nigeria’s economic solution than that.
