“We ve seen some kind of opportunities as far as the law (PIA) is concerned”
The Group Executive Director, Gas and Power, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mr AbdulKabir Ahmed, has said implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act has opened more opportunities for investors in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
He said this on Wednesday in the United Arab Emirates at a panel session during the Strategic Conference with theme, ‘Building the energy company of the future: New business models and investment flows.”
He spoke alongside other panelists such as Fatema Al Nuaimi, CEO ADNOC LNG; Akshay Kumar Singh, Managing Director and CEO Petronet LNG; and Fabrizio Botta of Saipem.
Ahmed said that since the PIA became law, many opportunities have been opened for investors to take advantage of particularly in the area of gas.
He said, “We ve seen some kind of opportunities as far as the law (PIA) is concerned. We have seen several bottlenecks that has been removed and those who wish to invest are encouraged to come and invest and it is everybody’s destination for now and those who have investments they want to make are welcome.”
On the price movement in gas, he said there are many uncertainties that have been caused by production, supply and the issue of climate change.
He said, “To add to the contributions on the price movement of gas, NLNG in particular, what we need to agree on is that the issue of price volatility, uncertainty and as well as complexity within the gas market is fair.
“There are a lot of uncertainties not only in terms of production and supply, but we also have nature itself playing its own role and we can look at it from the perspective in trying to change itself.
“When you look at the climate change, the winter, the direction of the timing whether it is prolonged or shortened now gives you the kind of demand that you get from energy and since you cannot determine when the winter will begin and end given climate change perspective, then you have to have that volatility perspective.
“In addition to that, we also look at the complexity of it which comes when you bring in renewables. You have renewables that can serve as substitutes.”
Going forward, Ahmed said the NNPC will continue to do more in deepening the gas sector by finding the most convenient way of moving gas from one place to another.
To achieve this, he said the NNPC will continue to build infrastructure in addition to the pipeline infrastructure that is being built.
He said, “A lot of confidence is being imposed on Nigeria as an investment environment. Now, that is now leading to the Train 8.
“As we are, we are also contemplating on it. So, if Train 8 is being contemplated, then that means that that environment is still viable for investors to come in.
“Aside from that, we also have several representatives from several investors trying to put in their money around floating LNGs.”