By Innocent Obasi
The Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) has reiterated its commitment to maintain its partnership with relevant industry stakeholders to ensure the growth and development of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
Abdulrazaq Isa, the Chairman of IPPG, who stated this while speaking at the Group’s 2022 Annual Dinner which was held in Lagos, also envisaged 2023 to be a very important year for Nigeria, noting that the country will witness a political transition as well as see numerous changes across the entire oil and gas value chain.
“The Nigerian oil and gas industry has evolved over the last two years with the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act, large IOC divestment announcements, and Nigeria’s commitment to 2060 net-zero aspirations. This means that a holistic re-positioning of our industry has become necessary,” Isa said.
He expressed gratitude to the two industry regulators, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), for their diligent implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and their adopted approach of engaging all stakeholders in this regard.
He said the positive impact of the implementation of PIA, the conclusion of IOC (International Oil Company) divestment phase and the emerging dominance of the indigenous players across onshore and shallow water space; the implementation of the decade of gas policy; and the expected deregulation of the downstream sector, will be seen on Nigeria’s oil and gas industry in the years to come.
The IPPG also stated that it has a significant role to play going forward and is best positioned to ensure the optimal development of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon resources because its members have proven financial and technical capability to develop the country’s hydrocarbon resources, as well as a proven appetite to support the government’s vision for energy security by developing a broader range of value-adding midstream and downstream businesses.
“It is therefore imperative that our advocacy effort in 2023 should be focused on creating collective support and deliberate collaboration with the government, industry regulators and Nigerian financial institutions, working in concert, to optimise the numerous growth opportunities available across the industry,” Isa said.
He noted that the Group’s priority as the industry, in the short to medium term, would be to rapidly exploit its hydrocarbon assets for the socio-economic transformation of Nigeria. To this end,he said IPPG will continue to work closely with the government to achieve all its aspirations for the industry which is primarily centred on energy availability, affordability and security for all Nigerians now and in the coming years.
