6th March, 2024
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday signed executive orders on oil and gas reforms in keeping with his dedicated efforts to remove obstacles to investments in Nigeria.
A statement issued by presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale said the president has executed Policy Directives to improve the investment climate and position Nigeria as the preferred investment destination for the oil & gas sector in Africa.
He said following extensive engagements, analyses, and benchmarking with other jurisdictions, Tinubu has initiated the amendment of primary legislation to introduce fiscal incentives for oil & gas projects, reduce contracting costs and timelines, and promote cost efficiency in local content requirements.
Ngelale said recognizing the urgency to accelerate investments, the President has directed the introduction of fiscal incentives for non-associated gas, midstream and deepwater developments; streamlining of contracting process to compress the contracting cycle to six months and the application of the local content requirements without hindering investments or the cost competitiveness.
“The details of these Policy Directives will be gazetted and communicated by the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation.
“These incentives were developed in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Justice, Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Petroleum, Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board.
“The Special Adviser to the President on Energy has been directed to continue coordinating the aforementioned stakeholders to ensure the implementation of these directives within a stipulated timeframe,” he said.