The governments of Nigeria and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea yesterday discussed the creation of a combined logistics base, the deployment of local resources across nations, and cutting the costs of significant oil and gas activities.
These opportunities were examined when the Minister of Planning and Economic Diversification of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Gabriel Mbega Obiang Lima, led a delegation to meet with the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, at the Board’s liaison office in Abuja.
The meeting’s discussions centred on inviting reputable Nigerian oil and gas service companies to establish operational bases in Equatorial Guinea, from which the businesses would launch their operations in nearby nations like Gabon, Cameroon, and Angola using the country’s ports.
The Minister promised to submit a formal request for cooperation to the NCDMB and stated that before such economic opportunities could be successfully explored, support from government organisations would be required.
The Minister bemoaned the exorbitant price of important oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Guinea, adding that operators in Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea could significantly reduce their costs by organising the scheduling of their respective work programmes, like the mobilisation and demobilisation of drilling rigs and other equipment.
He also claimed that major corporations like General Electric would only invest in a jurisdiction if they were guaranteed access to markets in surrounding nations.
The Minister and the Executive Secretary reiterated their views that fossil fuels would continue to be the primary source of energy for several decades despite Western countries’ calls for an energy transition and plans to gradually replace fossil fuels with renewable energy options.
They agreed that both countries would continue to fully utilise their oil and gas resources and use the money earned to boost their respective economies, including prospects for renewable energy.
The Minister and his entourage were greeted by the Executive Secretary, who noted that both countries had recently worked closely together in the energy sector in recent years.
He stated that the Nigerian Content 10-Year Strategic Roadmap’s Sectorial and Regional Market Linkages pillar highlighted such arrangements and that the Board and Nigerian oil and gas service businesses are eager to take part in the proposed collaboration.
He continued by saying that Nigerian service businesses had overcapacity in a number of crucial areas, thus it was crucial to look into prospects across the Gulf of Guinea where their knowledge and cooperation with players from those countries are needed.
He gave the assurance that NCDMB “would mobilize Nigerian service producers under the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria and make sure they come with us to your conference, and we will synergize.
“There is no need to travel to the US or Singapore, we can determine potential collaboration areas. It might be a foundation for logistics in the maritime industry. Huge opportunities exist,” he said.
