The need to deepen reforms, conclusively resolve the militancy crises in the Niger Delta which gives investors little comfort, and promote transparency in the regulatory and fiscal framework of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector are lessons offered by Cote d’Ivoire’s ability to attract the biggest LNG investment in Africa this year.
An international consortium led by the France’s Total SA plans to start construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the West African country of 23million people by mid-2017. The project cost is estimated around $141.5 million.
The project involves the construction of a terminal with a floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) in Vridi, Abidjan area, and a pipeline connecting the FSRU to existing and planned power plants in Abidjan, as well as to regional markets connected to the Ivorian network. This will enable Ivory Coast to become the first regional LNG import Hub in West Africa, and to meet both regional and domestic demand.
“This project illustrates Total’s strategy to develop new gas markets by unlocking access to LNG for fast-growing economies. Working closely with our partners enabled us to put together an integrated proposal combining LNG supply and import infrastructure through a floating storage and re-gasification unit,” said Philippe Sauquet, President Gas, Renewables and Power of Total.
The re-gasification terminal project is expected to become operational by mid 2018.
Curiously, Nigeria has Africa’s largest proven gas reserves and ninth in the world, with over 180 TCF (Trillion Cubic Feet) of associated and non-associated gas estimated. Geologists say a deliberate exploration for oil could yield as much as 600 TCF. The presence of vast gas reserves matters little in a suffocating investment environment.
Since last year, Cote d’Ivoire has consistently come tops on Nielsen’s second Africa Prospects Indicators (APi) report. Nielsen APi measures macro-economic, business, consumer and retail dimensions for nine of Sub Saharan Africa leading markets, where common measurement information is available. It also assesses macro-economic and business prospects for a total of 26 countries, where extended metrics exist.
“Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Tanzania maintain the first, second and third places on the latest prospects ranking and currently provide more stable investment destinations than the larger economies of Nigeria, South Africa and Angola that have lower expectations,” says the report.
Two years after emerging from a post-election unrest that claimed the lives of about 3,000 people, West Africa’s largest cocoa producer has recorded an average annual growth of 9 percent in the past four years. Alassane Ouattara, the country’s president, is investing in big infrastructure projects, implementing reforms to improve the business environment. The country aspires to be an emerging country by 2020.
This highlights an urgent need to speedily resolve macroeconomic challenges such as inflation, unemployment, lagging economic growth and stagnant rate of business cycle in Nigeria. Nigeria’s has yet to pass a petroleum sector bill, as focus on these critical issues are being diverted on account of a national obsession over the president’s health.
Lawmakers will consider the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) for possible passage on May 16 and 17 after consideration of the bill was postponed on April 25 owing to the death of Isiaka Adeleke, a senator representing Osun West, in the Senate. This is the first time that the PIB in any of its forms would get to this stage in the National Assembly.
ISAAC ANYAOGU
