The United State government has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made a strong start to his tenure and his policies have the potentials to attract foreign direct investment.
Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt, the Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Energy Resources, United States made the disclosure when he led a US delegation to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company limited in Abuja yesterday.
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Pyatt said: “We see opportunities in terms of delivering more power for the citizens of Nigeria and recognizing that President Tinubu has made a very strong start, which offers the prospect of unlocking new growth and new interest from foreign investors, including significantly the American companies that have historically played a very large role in the Nigerian energy economy.”
He said the presence of his team in Abuja is a reflection of President Biden and the US government’s commitment the partnership with Nigeria.
He said: “Our understanding of the importance of the decisions that you have to make about how to continue to develop your resources in a way that delivers benefits for the citizens of this country but also protects our shared environment.
“It is at the heart of that effort because of your size, because of the leadership that your country exercises across the continent and because of the globally significant asset that Nigeria possesses.”
Pyatt welcomed the proposal from the Petroleum Ministry on the creation of a vehicle for more systematic engagement between both governments.
He said: “One of the specific proposals that I will make to your president is the creation of a US Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue. We have these dialogues with our closest allies, for instance in Asia, with Japan, with Korea, with Thailand, with Australia. In order to bring together all of the strands of the US government, our various agencies, to look at exactly the cross cutting issues that you describe, is it energy security, energy transition, recycling, energy access and ensuring that our citizens have the power we require.”
In his remark, Mele Kyari, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) group chief executive officer, thanked the United States for their intervention towards supporting Nigeria’s economy to reduce emissions and creating framework support for the country.
“I am also aware that several supports are coming our way and this will help increase our capacity to produce as we progress our efforts towards enhancing gas in our country,” he said.
The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Made Stream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority( NMDRA), Mr. Farooq Ahmed and The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) Engr, Gbenga Komolafe called collaboration in the areas of automation, digitalization and especially in terms of regulation.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ambassador Gabriel Tanimu Aduda said Nigeria is very ready to work with US team to ensure the equitable and very swift transition the best Nigeria can.
Aduda said; “For Nigeria now, gas is our transition fuel and we want to see every form of collaboration assistance that will help us maximize the use of gas, which we all have agreed is a cleaner form of energy.
“We have already taken steps to ensure Nigeria is meeting its commitments to decarbonization, to demilitarization, to carbon capture and all that, but going forward, we will want to work with your team to see how we can very quickly push the domestication of usage of gas, you know, as an alternative fuel in our houses and our automobiles.”
But working with you very closely, technology is one very key thing that we’re looking up to you for manpower development. We hope that technology transfer will be a very prominent part of our engagements going forward.”
