By BENJAMIN ORISEMEKE, Abuja –
The Federal Government, on Monday said it was opened to onshore and natural gas investments by the Turkish government in Nigeria.
Speaking during a bilateral meeting with the Turkish Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alpersen Bayraktar, on the side-line of the ongoing Ceraweek, in Houston, Texas, Minister of State Petroleum Resources Chief Timipre Sylva, said Nigeria was opened to more Turkish investments in the hydrocarbon sector, especially with the planned divestments of some International Oil Companies (IOC) from the onshore sectors in the country.
“We are looking at the possibilities of Turkey taking interests in more investments in Nigeria” Sylva told the Turkish minister adding that “now that IOC like Shell, Exxon Mobil and others are planning to divest from onshore assets, more investments in that sector would be a great opportunity for Turkey to expand its investments interest in Nigeria”.
Sylva said the “cooperation between Nigeria and Turkey is very significant and we can extend our relationship in energy and other areas of trade”.
The minister added that with the new Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) Nigeria has further streamlined its laws in the oil and gas investment environment and thus making investments in the oil and gas sector of the economy more attractive to potential investors.
He called on the deputy minister to encourage Turkish investors to come to Nigeria to participate in the new opportunities offered by the exit of the IOC to consolidate the bilateral relations between both countries.
Sylva assured Bayraktar of good return on investments in Nigeria, stressing that despite plans by the IOC to divest from Onshore assets, the companies were ramping up investments in offshore assets in the country, a sign that the Nigeria investment environment “is still the desired investment destination in Africa”.
He said Nigeria was also opened for Turkey investors taking up investments in Greenfield assets noting that the country was prepared to engage in discussions on government-to-government basis to achieve the desired results.
Bayraktar, on his part sort the support of Sylva to get Turkey to be part of the Nigerian upstream oil and gas sector, adding Turkey was prepared to shore up investments in the area of natural gas in Nigeria if given the opportunity.
DISCLAIMER
The OPINION / COLUMN is authored by independent contributors to the National Accord Newspaper. While contributors adhere to our editorial guidelines, they are not employed by the National Accord Newspaper. The perspectives and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of the National Accord Newspaper or its staff.
Leave a Reply