The Nigerian Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) says it is prepared to attract much-needed foreign investments into Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
This is according to Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, the executive secretary of NEITI. He said this during the stakeholder’s engagement on Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) which was held on Tuesday, November 22 in Abuja.
During his speech at the forum, Dr. Orji said in recognition of NEITI’s leading role in shaping reforms in the oil and gas industry, the federal government drafted NEITI into a steering committee to direct the implementation process of the PIA, which is important and strategic for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
He highlighted the importance of accountability and transparency in the industry, stating that he would continue to work to lead NEITI with the needed strategic direction. He went further to state that NEITI has been working with relevant stakeholders and leveraging its experience and exposure in the industry to ensure that the implementation of the PIA delivers its objective and desired results across the board.
Renewed drive: A stakeholder who attended the event in Abuja told Nairametrics that it seems that in its last days, the Buhari administration has developed a renewed interest in the country’s oil and gas industry in order to maximize its resources for the benefit of Nigerians. According to her, the Buhari administration has proven this from the passing of the PIA to transforming the NNPC to a limited liability company, to the current fight against crude oil theft and opening up new oil and gas campaigns in frontier basins.
During his speech at the stakeholders’ engagement, Dr. Orji also said NEITI was working to promote transparency in the country’s oil and gas industry. One of the ways this is done is through NEITI’s reports, which have shown that Nigeria earned $741.48 billion in oil revenues between 1999 and 2020. According to Dr. Orji, the 2021 report on the oil and gas industry will soon be made available.
2020 data on the industry: According to 2020 NEITI data, the total amount of revenue received from the industry in 2020 was $20.43 billion, which is the lowest between 2011 and 2020, except for 2016, which was $17.06 billion.
For the record: According to 2020 NEITI data on solid minerals, Nigeria mined 527.37 tons of minerals between 2007 and 2020. The data also states that Nigeria’s total mineral export in 2020 was 32,992 tons with a free-on-board value of $42.46 million. Out of a total of 71,151,000 tons of minerals produced in 2020, 71,118, 008 tons, or 99.95% were used domestically. The major minerals exported were zinc ore and concentrates, lead ores and concentrates, and manganese ores and concentrates.
