All is now set for the 2nd Valuechain Magazine Public Lecture and Awards coming up today at Fraser suites Abuja. The event which is organized to commemorate the Magazine’s first year anniversary will have “The Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry in the Last Four Years: Achievements, Gaps and Prospects.” as the theme.
According to the organisers, the choice of the theme was informed by the need for the stakeholders in the oil and gas industry to appraise the progress recorded by President Muhammadu Buhari administration in its first term of office.
Musa Bashir Usman, publisher/editor-in-chief of Valuechain Magazine, ‘’We believe that the aforementioned theme is an apt topic at this time for a number of reasons. Firstly, there is a need to address the issue in the delay in the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which would serve as a legal framework for the effective management and regulation of the petroleum Industry. Secondly, with a new influx of private sector investments into local refining such as Dangote refinery, reducing over-dependence on imported refined petroleum products will become a reality’’.
Thirdly, through the Marginal Fields Allocation and Divestment of Exploration and Production (E&P) Assets, a major transition in oil fields discovery is apparent, from purely international oil companies to increasingly indigenous participation.
Finally, with viable economic prospects such as the exploration campaign in the inland basins to discover new hydrocarbon reserves, and a proposed Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline to supply natural gas to the European market, it is vital to address the scope of all that has been attained over the last four years in the Industry, and advise on the necessary steps to procure a secured economic future for Nigeria.
The event BusinessDay gathered provides the opportunity to appreciate the present government achievements in the industry, beam searchlight on the gaps that still exist, which is detrimental to old and new investments, and highlight the abundant opportunities that are waiting to be harnessed in the country’s oil and gas industry.
Apart from the public lecture, the event will also feature the launch of the Valuechain Sickle Cell Foundation and presentation of Awards to some distinguished Nigerians whose contributions to the oil & gas industry is immeasurable.
MIKE OCHONMA
