The push by the Nigerian Government to double crude oil output to three million barrels per day by 2030 seems doomed to failure because industry players say that unless quick measures are taken, the government will miss its deadline.
Immediate removal of taxes on key pieces of machinery used in the oil and gas business, as well as quick port clearance, are being demanded by operators to solve the bottleneck that has made projects expensive.
This view was echoed by the Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Wole Ogunsanya, during the recently held Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.
“It is an emergency situation in the industry now and the government should address these issues urgently,” he stated.
According to Ogunsanya, boosting crude production from one-and-a-half million barrels daily would need huge investments in infrastructural development as well as gas machinery, and tax incentives would bring about the needed foreign investments.
During this interview, Ogunsanya emphasized that while there have been waiver policies in other sectors such as agriculture and the pharmaceutical industry, the chicken that lays the gold egg in the oil and gas sector cannot be neglected.
At the same time, he argued that Africa needs to enhance regional cooperation and develop the capacity of its people to ensure its energy future given the changing realities of global economics and geopolitics.
Mr. Ogunsanya, who doubles as the CEO of Geoplex Drillteq Limited, emphasized some of the problems being experienced by Nigerian and African delegates attending the conference this year, especially in terms of getting U.S. visas, which he noted greatly impacted attendance and exhibitions.
Mr. Ogunsanya talked extensively about Africa’s energy security aspirations, the need for regional cooperation, development of indigenous capacity for oil and gas exploration in Nigeria, as well as increased participation of PETAN members in upstream activities.
