The Group CEO of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd, Malam Mele Kyari, said in New York, United States, that the company is in high-level talks with U.S., DFC, its development finance institution, Exim Bank, America’s export credit agency, to pool funds for Nigeria’s gas project.
Speaking on Thursday at Nigeria International Economic Partnership Forum, an event being organized on the sidelines of the 77th General Assembly of the United Nations, Kyari said the negotiation and engagement with the officials of the financial institutions were very critical to the fortunes of the gas project.
“We are already talking to U.S., DFC, Exim Bank so that they can give us finance for our gas project and that is very critical,’’ Persecondnews U.S correspondent covering the event quotes the GCEO as saying.
Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer with a huge gas deposit of about 208.62 tcf (trillions standard cubic feet of gas) while oil reserves is about 37.046 billion barrels.
Persecondnews also recalls that NNPC Ltd had already signed a gas contract with the ECOWAS Commission and Morocco to supply gas to Morocco, 13 ECOWAS countries and Europe.
Kyari told the forum that NNPCL was committed to delivering the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline that will pass through the U.S.
“As a pathway, there must be a pathway for providing energy transition and as we move on we must first of all accept that there is transition fuel and that is what we are doing to see how we can leverage on the enormous gas resources in our country.
“We want to see how we can deliver the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline which is passing through your country (U.S.), ’’ he said.
On the net-zero carbon emissions being pursued by world leaders, Kyari, a geologist, also said: “I’m sure you are all aware that today we are getting a grant to do baseline emission studies in our country and that is very helpful.
“Mr President (Buhari) has also asked that the project be supported. The basic support we are getting is from Afri Exim Bank.’’
On the challenges of oil theft in Nigeria, kyari said the issue was purely a security one, but expressed the hope that it was surmountable.
“In our oil and gas industry today we have challenges of oil theft; it is clearly a security issue but it is not beyond containment.
“Security agencies are collaborating with our partners and it is coming down drastically. We need international collaboration also.
“We are getting to a point where purchase of any Nigerian crude anywhere in the world can be validated. We will be able to confirm if it is genuine because there is no transaction in the industry that does not pass through the banking system.
“There is no way you can send crude anywhere in the world without passing through the banking system,’’ the NNPCL boss stressed.
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