Aregbesola Laments Dominance Of Foreigners In Oil Gas Industry

Rauf Aregbesola, Nigeria's interior minister, has urged citizens to completely domesticate all facets of the nation's oil and gas sector

He claimed that now is the perfect time for domestic enterprises to start spending money on technology, processing, and research in all areas of petroleum that are now controlled by foreign companies.

At the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair in 2023, which was hosted at the Nigerian Content Tower Conference and Exhibition Centre in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the minister delivered the keynote address.

According to a statement released by his media adviser, Sola Fasute, the sector, which is the backbone of the country's economy, has to be domesticated to fend off the dependence syndrome and give communities control over their own local economies.

Aregbesola opined that research into petroleum utilisation and maximisation should also be encouraged by indigenous companies to generate the knowledge base for the country's specific needs in the sector.

He noted that foreign investors are also important players that must be attracted to aid results and boost returns.

He also emphasised the necessity for Nigeria to adopt a 25-year alternative power template that would be powered by petrol in order to avoid being trampled by the West's shift to electric motors.

“We should not only take our own destiny in our hands, we should dominate the oil and gas market in sub-Saharan Africa.

“We should be able to supply refined petroleum products to our immediate neighbours and other African countries.

“We should also leverage on gas to produce electricity for domestic consumption and export.

“We will be making 10 times revenue on finished products than on primary products, which will create more wealth and prosperity for the nation.

“As the world begins a transition to electric motor vehicles, Nigeria should adopt gas as the transition energy for the next 25 years, and not be stampeded by the West into the electric car bandwagon.

“We should convert the existing motor vehicles to be using gas, which we have in abundant supply. Nigeria has about the third largest natural gas reserve in the world.

“We should take maximum advantage of it for our national interest,” he urges.