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Harnessing the potential of gas resources would help lift African economies in such a way that issues of employment and infrastructural development would largely be tackled.
This was the assertion of ABC Orjiako, chairman of Seplat Petroleum Development Company, who noted that gas has the potential to transform African economies giving the appropriate enabling environment.
The Seplat boss at the recently concluded Africa/Singapore Business Forum hosted by the International Enterprise (IE) in Singapore, said that the country’s current challenges with low oil prices, high exchange rate relative to the dollar and spiralling inflation all signal a wake-up call for Nigeria’s economic diversification.
Speaking on the theme, “Africa Oil and Gas: Positioning for the future” which discussed the Africa Oil and Gas narrative from the perspective of a Nigerian Independent, playing in the global equity space, Orjiako and other panellists highlighted the challenges that exist not just in Nigeria but on the entire continent.
According to him, Nigeria being the biggest economy in Africa and the largest oil producer in the continent was an easy reference point for the challenges facing commodities producing countries in Africa and elsewhere in the world.
He said the country is facing not just its toughest foreign exchange volatility and inflation, but low oil prices which have now been exacerbated by the loss of millions of barrels to the Niger Delta militancy leading to a huge budget deficit as is the case with other producers.
He said: “the good news is that Nigeria is taking the right steps in the right direction by the recent subsidy removal and the floating of the Naira. What is expected is that the right fiscal discipline to channel the associated savings to the real sector, particularly in infrastructure, manufacturing and agriculture, will evolve. Gas is at the center of this transformation because in Africa, the power infrastructure gap is the biggest barrier to real growth. The huge deficiency in power presents a huge investment opportunity with good headroom for returns on investment.”
He noted that SEPLAT’s leading business growth objective is to consolidate the company’s rapidly growing gas business, stating that in the last two years the company has doubled its gas production to 300MMscf/day, by the commissioning of its 150MMscf/day Modular gas plant in OBEN, with plans underway to increase the processing capacity to 500MMscf/day by end of 2016.
SEPLAT is currently delivering 30% of gas for power in the Nigerian domestic gas market and is well positioned to increase this exponentially in the coming years with the ability to deliver to both the Nigerian market and the West African sub region.
The SEPLAT chairman asserts that SEPLAT is therefore, committed to the inevitable transformation waiting to happen in Nigeria and the African continent regardless of the current challenges.
Olusola Bello
