Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timipre Sylva met with the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs H. E. Jose Manuel Albares in Abuja, yesterday, to discuss the implementation of energy agreements between both countries.
Nairametrics gathered that the Spanish minister was accompanied by decision-makers in the Spanish oil and gas sector.
Investment opportunities: Timipre Sylva welcomed Albares and his delegation and said Nigeria is looking forward to oil and gas investments. He also highlighted the interest Spain has in the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project that could see the country exporting natural gas to Europe when completed.
- “NUPRC has already pitched and they are already in the process of having a bid round. As a country, we need all the investments that we require. The oil and gas sector is at the core of our economy and he (the Spanish minister) has come in with these arrays of investors, very major companies in Spain, then I am sure that we have the potential to have a lot of investment coming into Nigeria from now on,” Sylva said.
The CEO of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) Gbenga Komolafe, who also attended the meeting, noted that the Spanish minister’s visit was very timely and appropriate in terms of investment opportunities.
This is because the visit came around the same time that the NUPRC had just launched the 2022 Mini Bid Round exercise for deep offshore fields and the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme, among other opportunities that exist in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
In case you missed it: In June 2022, President Buhari visited the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, to sign agreements on energy cooperation and the fight against terrorism.
In December 2022, Spain emerged as Nigeria’s largest export destination with total export valued at N873.6 billion, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
