Leading indigenous investor and the Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc, Mr. Wale Tinubu, has said that time has come for Nigeria to work with a long term view to reduce our heavy dependence on oil by undergoing an energy transformation, saying for this to occur, “we require a tide of reforms, investments and innovation to drive speedy market recovery”.
Speaking as a panellist on the topic: ‘Resilience of the Oil and Gas Industry: An African Perspective’, at the recently concluded Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, Tinubu said, “We expect a soft market will persist for longer than we anticipated and indigenous companies, such as Oando, need to now focus on areas that the multinationals have avoided.”
Tinubu explained that with hundreds of million dollars lost due to pipeline shut-ins since the first quarter of this year, $6bn lost to crude oil theft and vandalism, and 3,000 pipeline points vandalised in under a year, it was imperative that Nigeria and other countries should proffer “immediate solutions and turn challenges into opportunities.”
He decried that players within the continent have battled severe economic and security challenges as reduced rig counts, delayed and cancelled projects, vandalism, and depreciating export revenues have plagued the industry.
He noted that the oil industry is in its deepest downturn since the 1990s. While prices have recovered marginally a few times over the last year, the industry-wide belief remains that oil prices will not return to $90 or $100 a barrel for another few years.
Tinubu’s position, however encouraged the President and CEO, Qatar Petroleum, Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, advised oil producers to “invest heavily in the downturn to ensure you are successful in the long term.”
