President of NGA, Mr Aka Nwokedi
NGA President demands suitable fiscal terms for gas
Sopuruchi Onwuka
The Nigeria Gas Association (NGA) has called on government to dismantle all policy and fiscal impediments to production and utilization of gas in addressing energy poverty in the country.
The association declared that the country’s current position in the prevailing global scramble for gas market share, and the current level of gas available for domestic consumption have failed to deliver full economic value and social benefit for the citizens.
President of the Association, Akachukwu Nwokedi, who spoke at the 2023 Annual International Strategic Conference of the Association of Energy Correspondents (NAEC) in Lagos, pointed at the need to make gas the main driver of direct consumption and secondary energy production.
In pointing at the level of energy poverty in the country where many Nigerians do not have access to electricity, Mr Nwokedi made it clear that Nigeria’s energy transition strategies must be modeled to provide the people affordable and available energy for deliberate and inclusiveness for economic growth.
He made it clear that the nation’s energy transition programmes must be planned to deliver full economic values along the production chain.
In pointing at the government’s plan for net zero carbon emission by 2060, Nwokedi said government must maximize its huge of gas resources as the main driver of our energy transition.
According to him, the industry still suffers enormous disincentives for investments including sanctity of contract, insecurity, facility vandalism and community unrest despite a number of incentives captured in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIA).
Mr Nwokedi reiterated that government should flaunt virile fiscal and commercial framework to unlock investments in the country’s gas industry; explaining that whereas the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) churned out regulations that moderate the existing fiscal regime, it has to do more in earning the trust of investors.
In addressing supply gaps in the domestic gas market where prices are shooting up along inflationary trends in the economy, Mr Nwokedi declared: “We have to unlock the supply side and creating sustainable supply and demand that make the gas sector work.”
Unlocking investments in the domestic gas industry, according to Aka Nwokedi, the local fiscal and operating environment must flaunt a reward system that investible capital cannot ignore.
In emphasizing the need for ease of doing business; he made it clear that stifled investment, harsh regulatory and unprotected legal regimes would repel investors.
He cited the recent performance level agreement signed by Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and the IOCs to reduce project time, as a good step in healing the operating environment.
“If investors know that the policy framework is predictable in terms of investment circle, it will be attractive. There is a lot of potentials and bottlenecks that can be eased.”
On the commercial side, Mr Nwokedi pointed at the inefficiencies in the government’s gas-to-power programme as business killer; adding that the prevailing debt overhang in the electricity supply industry indicates a weak domestic market.
He called for a price regime that would cost reflective, a market that makes effective demand, and environment that is safe for operations.
He hammered on the need for favourable fiscal terms, enhanced investment incentives and guaranteed market return in order to make the industry work for commercial players and other stakeholders along the full ancillary chain.
