Nigeria will get better rewards from the oil and gas sector if the government is able to come up with strong regulatory frameworks, the British Secretary of Energy, Mr. Malcom Wicks, advised on Tuesday.
He also challenged Nigeria to begin to find new energy sources, which were cleaner and do less damage to human existence.
Speaking during the opening of a meeting between the British Energy delegation and their Nigerian counterparts in Abuja, Wicks explained that the British government had a strong regulatory regime and held periodic dialogue with international oil companies operating in the country on fiscal issues as well other matters.
The meeting was a follow up to the talks between President Umaru Yar� Adua and British Prime Minister, Mr. Gordon Brown, in June, which centred on energy collaboration.
According to Wicks, �We believe that there is prospect for any country working well with IOCs for the benefit of the people of the country and not just the IOCs.�
The secretary explained that Britain�s oil production, especially from the North Sea, stood at about 1.6 million barrels per day, down from a peak of almost three million barrels in the 1990s.
He added, �It does mean that we have experience for several decades of how to get the right relationship between the need for our nation to properly exploit oil and gas and how we work in partnership with IOCs and independent oil companies.�
Wicks expressed Britain�s willingness to understand the energy challenges in Nigeria and see how its energy experience and expertise could help Nigeria implement reforms in the oil and gas sector.
He indicated his willingness to learn about Nigeria�s oil and gas production, implementation of the recently inaugurated Gas Master Plan and prospects of ending gas flaring.
Other areas that engaged Wicks� interest included the reform of the oil and gas sector and the audits carried out by the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative.
He said, �The best of oil and gas revenues together with fiscal discipline and transparency can make a lot of difference to the hopes of poor communities. A nation like Nigeria with its huge energy resource has every prospect to transform the lives of not just a few but of all of your people.�
Wicks further described energy issues, climate change and global warming as the biggest challenges of the 21st century.
He added that with the rise of many economies, including Nigeria, there would be a huge global demand for energy.