By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
The Managing Director of PPMC, Abdullahi Isiyaku has stated that the deregulation of the oil and gas sector has potential of generating N12trillion for Nigeria within four years.
He explained that the gains of deregulation will include a 7,500km road every year at N400m per kilometre.
Abdullahi made this known in Lagos as one of the key panelists at the Oil Trading Logistics Africa(OTL) Expo for the year 2021, under the theme “Downstream in Transition: Getting Set”, with the session topic as “Nigeria Fuels Congress”.
He explained that the funds accruable from the deregulation will lead to the establishment of 37 well-equipped 120-beds Tertiary Health Centres each year and at the cost of N82 billion per hospital.
He went on to point out that N10trillion can build and “equip 2,400 units of 1,000-bed capacity hospitals across 774 Local Governments “or 500,000 new houses for families through mortgage at N20million per house; or additional 27,000 megawatts of solar-powered electricity to the national grid”.
The PPMC MD further stated that the same N10trillion accruable from deregulation could “educate and skill up 2,000,000 Nigerians with global standard quality tertiary education and sought-after skills”.
Turning to Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), he said it will promote economic growth through increased investments, to drive oil and gas production in Nigeria.
He noted that the world is today driven by energy innovations and changing demand patterns. He then gave fresh insights into global and regional market dynamics, trends and energy transition.
Going further in his detailed submission, Isiyaku captured the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) proposition, namely the promotion of economic growth through increased investment to effectively drive oil and gas sector, among a host of eight other benefits of the Act.
Explaining further, he said the PIA is meant to create an effective and efficient midstream and downstream sectors in the nation’s oil and gas sector as a tool for boosting economic fortunes for development.
The PPMC boss joined other panelists at the event to brainstorm on the way forward for Nigeria’s downstream of the oil and gas sector, in view of the prevailing dynamics of the industry around the world.
The brainstorming session at the event also led to experts’ solutions to the challenges of downstream sector and how best to reposition it to make life better for Nigerians .
The event, which also fell under Oil Trading And Logistics(OTL) Week 2021, offered all panelists, notably the PPMC Managing Director the opportunity to make comprehensive submissions on how the nation should smoothly run the oil and gas sector, both at the midstream and downstream levels of the industry.
Stakeholders at the event also looked into the imperative of clean fuel for consumption across the nation. Panelists variously noted that Nigerians would be expected to key into clean fuels policy, notably gas, which is used by a large section of the country’s population.
