President Bola Tinubu has signed three new directives in the oil and gas industry to provide fiscal incentives for connected projects, cut contracting costs and delays, and encourage cost-effectiveness in local content standards.
This comes on the heels of “extensive engagements, analyses, and benchmarking with other jurisdictions,” a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, read Wednesday.
According to Ngelale, Tinubu approved the “introduction of fiscal incentives for non-associated gas, midstream, and deepwater developments.
“Streamlining of the contracting process to compress the contracting cycle to six months.
“The application of the local content requirements without hindering investments or the cost competitiveness.”
Wednesday’s directive is in tandem with Tinubu’s efforts to remove barriers to investment in Nigeria, leverage the country’s resources, and diversify the economy for the benefit of Nigerians, according to the Presidency.
It is also intended to boost the business climate and establish Nigeria as Africa’s preferred investment destination for the oil and gas sector, according to the statement.
Ngelale stated that the incentives were developed in collaboration with the Federal Ministries of Justice, Finance, Petroleum, Budget, and Economic Planning, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.
The Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation will publish and explain the specifics of these policy directives, while Mrs. Olu Verhijen, Special Adviser to the President on Energy, has been directed to “continue coordinating the aforementioned stakeholders to ensure the implementation of these directives within a stipulated time frame.”
