Bayo Ojulari, group chief executive officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, says lack of project continuity is a major factor slowing down progress in the oil and gas sector.
Ojulari spoke during a meeting organised by Ekperikpe Ekpo, minister of state for petroleum resources (gas), in commemoration of Ekpo’s second year in office.
Highlighting the lack of collaboration, he noted that if stakeholders persist in working in isolation, “we will not achieve economies of scale”.
“That’s one critical areas of investment, of collaboration that we need to drive. When it comes to projects, what has made it difficult to move at the speed that we deserve to move on is continuity of projects,” Ojulari said.
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In the past, the NNPC GCEO said the sector has had up to six foreign investment decisions (FIDs) “back to back”.
“So when big contractors come in, they have a line of sight. So they put their fabrication yards and you can have jobs continuing,” he said.
“What has happened is having this individual project meant that once the project stopped, the people have to pack up. The manpower, the people they have trained, infrastructure they have put in place, there’s no continuity.
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“This is an area of partnerships, of working together where we can enable the individual investments and also enable lowering of costs, but also accelerate the overall programme.”
In his remarks, Ekpo emphasised that gas plays a pivotal role in Nigeria’s energy security, industrialisation, and participation in the global energy transition.
“Under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, we have laid a strong foundation through reforms, commercialisation, and infrastructure development,” he said.
“As today’s conversation shows, the real task lies ahead. The future will be defined by how boldly we pursue investment, how effectively we implement policies, and how closely we work with private and international partners. Let us translate today’s insight into practical commitments.”
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Ekpo said the government would continue to provide the enabling environment for investors.
The minister added that true transformation rests “in our collective resolve to make gas a catalyst for Nigeria’s prosperity”.
