Kyari: Foreign investors are losing confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector

Mele Kyari, the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), says the absence of a stable fiscal environment is making international investors lose interest in the oil and gas industry.

A statement signed by Kennie Obateru, group general manager of NNPC’s public affairs division, quoted Kyari to have made this comment when he hosted members of the house of representatives committee on petroleum resources (upstream) who were on an oversight visit to the corporation.

Kyari tasked the lawmakers to act fast and arrest the situation.

“We need to act quickly to move from this unstable situation to a very stable one and the only way is for us to get the petroleum industry bill (PIB) to work so that countries and investors can work with us,” he said.

Kyari said upstream section of the sector needs foreign capital and the only way to attract such is to have stable laws and a friendly business environment that guarantee cost recovery and a decent return on investment for investors.

He said the uncertainty in the sector created by the long delay in the passage of the PIB has led to a number of divestments from the country.

Kyari also said the drive by the management of NNPC to entrench the culture of transparency in the corporation has improved its business fortunes and creditworthiness as lenders are now willing to grant credit to it.

In his remarks, Musa Sarki Adar, chairman of the committee, expressed the committee’s readinness to provide the necessary support for NNPC to discharge its duties without hindrance.

Adar acknowledged the efforts aimed at encouraging transparency and accountability in the NNPC and also lauded the level of professionalism exhibited by the management in rallying the oil and gas industry to provide support for the federal government’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.