NUPRC: Nigeria ready to explore alternative funding models for oil, gas exploration

The Nigerian Upstream Downstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says the federal government has concluded plans to explore alternative funding models for the development of the country’s hydrocarbon resources.

Gbenga Komolafe, NUPRC’s chief executive officer (CEO), spoke on Monday during the opening ceremony of the exhibition stand of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) at the ongoing offshore technology conference (OTC) held in Houston, Texas in the United States.

Komolafe’s address focused on key reforms for sustainable development of the African oil and gas industry in view of global energy transition plans and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

He said the need to develop Nigeria’s oil and gas resources required huge funding, hence the decision of the commission to develop alternative funding models for the industry.

The NUPRC boss said the nation will not be left behind in the energy conversation, as the country is a place where “needs meet opportunities”.

“Africa, and by extension, Nigeria is well positioned because it has all it takes to bridge the energy gap in the light of energy transition,” he said.

“Nigeria with abundant oil and gas reserves and other sources of energy mix, is well positioned to be a superpower if all these hydrocarbon resources are well coordinated.”

Komolafe said the signing into law of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) had created a landmark reform in the petroleum industry, including an attractive fiscal and regulatory regime.

Also speaking at the event, Gabriel Aduda, the permanent secretary, ministry of petroleum resources, said the PETAN pavilion at the OTC showcased  Nigeria’s diversity in the oil and gas industry.

He said PETAN is looking at African countries’ collaboration toward developing the oil and gas sector.

“This is especially important because we in Nigeria are totally aware of the need to carry the entire continent alone,” he said.

“And we are not looking at this entity as just Nigeria alone, but the whole of African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO).

“So, we are looking at these beyond us. We are looking at the APPO.”

In his remarks, Nicholas Odinuwu, chairman of PETAN, said the OTC would continue to discuss building a sustainable oil and gas industry across the African continent in light of the energy transition, using the AfCFTA as a veritable tool.