APPA Summit: Buhari charges member countries on sustainable policies in local content
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday in Abuja, at the 6th African Petroleum Congress and Exhibition (CAPE VI), asked member countries of the African Petroleum Producers Association (APPA) to develop ingenious ways of promoting value addition and investment through sustainable policies in local content.
According to him, a common approach to local content will ensure that the whole of Africa benefits from economies of scale associated with her vast resources. He also invited member countries to partner with Nigeria to derive more benefits from ongoing mega projects like the General Electric Service Centre for Manufacturing Rotating Equipment in Calabar; the Ladol Industrial Free Zone in Lagos – wholly indigenous, privately developed and the hosting of the largest shipyard in West Africa; the 650,000 Bpd Dangote Indigenous Refinery in Lagos and the Samsung FPSO Integration Yard in Lagos.
He said “Africa must substantially achieve value addition in the exploitation of its natural resources; APPA must recognise that the development of domestic refining capacity in oil and gas is critical to sustainable economic growth. I challenge African Ministers of Energy to further explore cooperation mechanisms to expand regional refining capacities in an efficient and cost effective manner.”
Recalling that APPA was inaugurated as a regional economic Association in January, 1987 and that it has grown from the initial eight (8) member countries to eighteen (18); the President noted that the ongoing summit presents Africa with a very unique opportunity to look beyond the exploitation of oil and chart a new course in the use of other natural resources to upscale national revenues. Adding that the current volatility in the oil sector allows lessons to be learnt, synergies to be built and new approaches to be adopted to enable Africa expand her economy.
On the use of Gas in Africa’s future energy mix, the President said it has become imperative, if Africa must meet her future energy needs.
He further promised to expedite action on the development of a robust Gas infrastructure which must be jointly addressed. He observed that currently Nigeria has the 7th largest gas deposit in the world; rich in liquids and low in Sulfur and that with reserves put at over 185 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) and undiscovered reserves estimated at 400 TCF, Nigeria at sub-regional level, is actively involved in the West African Gas Pipeline Project that will deliver clean and safe natural gas from Nigeria to many West African countries.
The President finally assured the global community that Nigeria will continue to pursue focused renewable energy initiatives through prudent management of resources under a Bio-fuel programme for the production of fuel-ethanol and bio-diesel.
