Nigeria on Monday appealed to oil and gas companies to assist in tackling an energy crisis which has denied power to a majority of people in Africa’s most populous country.
“We must have electricity in Nigeria and the oil and gas companies will partner with us in delivering this to the Nigerian people within the shortest possible time,” the country’s acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, said at the opening of a three-day oil and gas conference in Abuja.
“A situation where a majority of Nigerians are denied power supply which oil companies can guarantee through a regular supply of gas is not acceptable,” Jonathan said.
He said oil and gas firms operating in the country have a responsibility as good corporate partners to assist Nigeria to overcome its power woes.
Nigeria currently produces just around 2,700 megawatts of electricity, less than half of last year’s targeted figure of 6,000 and woefully inadequate for its population.
South Africa, another continental powerhouse, produces more than 43,000 megawatts of electricity for a population a third the size of Nigeria.
Corruption, inefficiency, dilapidated equipment and particularly attacks on gas and oil pipelines and plants by militants in the Niger Delta have badly affected power generation and distribution in the past years.
Most businesses run on diesel-powered generators while most Nigerians go for days, even weeks, without power.
Jonathan said that Nigeria was committed to comprehensive reforms of the oil and gas sector.
A law that would regulate and restructure the sector — the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) — is before parliament, he said.
“The bill is central to an effective oil and gas industry in Nigeria,” he said.
Jonathan urged the National Assembly to expedite action on the passage of the PIB, saying the government was committed to the full implementation of its provisions when passed into law.
“We have come to a new era of partnership, built on trust, shared values and beneficial equitable interest. The resources of Nigeria whether haboured in the Mambila Plateau or the Niger Delta basin must be used for the advancement of the Nigerian people,” he said.
“I want to reassure Nigerians and our foreign partners of our unwavering commitment to pursuing the reform in this sector with an eye on our national interest primarily and also in meeting the market demand for energy security for livelihood protection,” he said.
He said the industry would be run more efficiently and profitably in line with other state-run oil firms in the world.
He said the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) will be reorganised like a business outfit.
“Our determination to transform NNPC into a profit-oriented business concern is irreversible. The new Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited will not get grants from government,” he said.
“It will be operated as a business concern that is conscious of its mission, able to borrow from the capital market, and paying dividends to its shareholders. The new NNPC will be required to pay to the government royalties and taxes just like any other company,” the acting president said.
Jonathan assured oil majors of the government’s commitment to ensure the security of their investments and personnel, especially in the volatile Niger Delta.
He said that government would implement a post-amnesty programme of rehabilitating oil rebels who laid down their arms last year to embrace peace in the region.
“Oil must be an agent for good and development not violence, war and impoverishment. Our goal is to ensure that the benefits of petroleum be enjoyed and seen to be enjoyed by all Nigerians,” he aded.
Nigeria, the world’s eighth largest oil producer, currently accounts for around two million barrels per day, compared to a peak of 2.6 million barrels four years ago.
The output was cut by a third because of unrest in the restive region.