The French government says it has set aside about one billion euros to invest in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, to strengthen its economic relations in Africa.
France’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Denys Gauer, disclosed this when the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Ndu Ughamadu, visited him in his office in Abuja.
Mr. Gauer, who named Nigeria as France’s first economic trading partner in Africa, said the French Development Agency has already packaged about one billion Euros to encourage French investors to invest in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
He said some of the French companies interested in coming to do business in Nigeria include investors currently developing wind and solar energy solutions in Katsina State.
He said the French government was also cooperating with the Nigerian government in its fight against Boko Haram insurgency in the north eastern part of the country.
While commending the Federal Government for stemming the Niger Delta insecurity situation, the envoy noted that Total, a French oil and gas Company already operating in Nigeria, had significant investment equity in the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, NLNG and Egina projects.
The Nigeria LNG is a multi-billion dollar company owned by four shareholders, namely, the NNPC holding equity on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria (49%), Shell BV (25.6%), Total LNG Nigeria Limited (15%) and ENI (10.4%).
The six trains plant has the capacity to produce 22 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas, LNG, and five MTPA of natural gas liquids, NGLs (LPG and Condensate) from 3.5 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas intake.
The ambassador said he was concerned that other French companies already in the country were grappling with challenges associated with unclear fiscal policies guiding operations in the oil and gas sector.
Earlier, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Ughamadu, said the Corporation under the current management led by the Group Managing Director, Maikanti Baru, was well positioned and open to fresh investments from the French Government and investors.
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