President Tinubu Approves 3 New Execution Orders To Improve Oil, Gas Sector

President Bola Tinubu approved three new directives to improve oil and gas sector investments to position Nigeria as a top destination across Africa for foreign investors.

According to the statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Ajuri Ngelale, the new execution orders are aligned with Tinubu's efforts to remove all obstacles in the way of bringing investments in Nigeria.

"Following extensive engagements, analyses, and benchmarking with other jurisdictions, the President 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 stated, as per Channel TV.

The first order is to introduce "fiscal incentives for non-associated gas, midstream and deepwater developments" while the second one is "streamlining of contracting process to compress the contracting cycle to six months," Punch reported.

The third execution order directs "the application of the local content requirements without hindering investments or the cost competitiveness."

The policy directives details will be gazetted and communicated by the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation.

These incentives were created in partnership 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, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

Furthermore, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board were also part of the collaboration.

As far as foreign investment is concerned, the president last week went on a state visit to Qatar to sign multi-sectoral agreements over education, enterprise development, investment promotion, youth empowerment, mining, tourism and sports sectors.

These agreements will allow Qatar to make investments in Nigeria.

During the visit, the president assured the Emir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani that Nigeria is all set to welcome investors in the country, adding that the ongoing reforms are in favor of return on investments, multiculturalism and innovation.

Al Thani assured Tinubu that Qatar is open to investing in Nigeria, noting that he doesn't doubt the Nigerian people's great capacity. He also said that a team of officials from Qatar will visit Nigeria after Ramadan for advance discussions regarding "actionable investment opportunities."