NMDPRA Satisfied with Operations of Indigenous Energy Firms

Says midstream needs fresh $50 billion investments

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has expressed satisfaction with the investment strides of Nigerian indigenous oil and gas firms in the energy sector.

The Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA, Mr. Saidu Mohammed, spoke during his three-day tour of facilities in the midstream oil and gas sector in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, at the weekend.

Speaking during his team’s facility tour at the Aradel Holdings Plc, Mohammed expressed satisfaction with the company, identifying the midstream market as where the growth of the nation’s economy lies to propel industrialisation.

He thanked Aradel for its improved investment in the oil and gas sector, calling on other Nigerians, the private sector in particular, “to imitate what they have done and build on it.” He stated that Nigeria has enough market for petroleum products,  gas as well as cleaner energy.

He said: “What we desire to see is more and more of this kind of assets and that’s what I keep on saying, that the midstream sector is where the growth of the Nigerian economy is; where we can propel all other sectors from the midstream.

“We need more and more refineries. Dangote refinery alone will not be, because our desire is not only for the Nigerian market which we are satisfied with today. We are also looking at the entire African continent and beyond, so that PMS can be sent to as far as America and Europe, not only Africa. But then we have to satisfy our local demand by the local players.

“And Aradel has demonstrated this; that is what we need. What we need is more and more of them to bring up not only the AGO and the fuel oil and the naphtha, but convert that one to another more valuable product such as LPG and gasoline.

“We have seen the expansion programme that they are doing. By the end of the year or turn of 2027, we will have PMS being loaded from here and that is incredible really in the right direction. Our aspiration really at the end of the day is to have the entire economy, the entire value chain of oil and gas being run by Nigerians. For us to do that, we need tremendous investment and those investments don’t come easy.”

Mohammed reiterated that the midstream oil and gas sector needs between $30 billion and $50 billion investments for the country. “I said two days ago that the midstream sector alone will require about $30 billion to $50 billion investment. And those investments can only come from the private sector, not government anymore.

“So, as an authority, as a regulator, what we will do is to make sure that we lay down the desired enablers for them to operate and attract the investment that Nigeria needs.  But, first of all, we have to improve what we do and the improvement can be seen here in a world-class facility being operated by Nigerians and that is the way to go.

Mohammed disclosed that the authority is working towards adequate supply of gas products in the country and at an affordable price.

“What we are trying to do is to make sure that ample supply is there. Ample supply as the basic economics says, the more supply you have, the lesser the price it becomes. And that’s where we are desiring to be.

“The desired goal is to make sure that we have ample supply of whatever commodity it is. Whether it is gas or gasoline at an affordable rate and maximised; that affordable rate can only come through competition. And that is what we want to do.

“You can see how we have demonstrated it on PMS. You can see how prices of PMS have gone from N1,000 to N800. And that is what competition brings. As long as we are not subsidising any segment of the business, we will get the desired goal”, Mohammed added.