Nigeria-China Roadshow Fetches $50 Billion — NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said that its strategy to fund capital intensive projects in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry has begun yielding fruits with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with some Chinese companies worth $50 billion for infrastructure development.

The corporation said in a statement in Abuja that the deal was part of recent landmark strides by its management to bridge the infrastructure funding gaps in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

The companies involved in the deal include China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO Group), China Cinda Asset Management Company Limited (CINDA), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation/Addax petroleum (SINOPEC/ADDAX), International Chamber of Commerce/ China’s National Development and Reform Commission (ICC-NDRC), among others.

The corporation said the MoU was coming as a fall out from its on-going road show in China, would provide funding for investments in oil and gas infrastructure, pipelines, refineries, power, facility refurbishments and upstream sector.

The ICC-NDRC is expected to develop the master plan for the deal that would include detailed feasibility study of current status of existing infrastructure in the Nigerian oil and gas sector industry and a road map on its development.

“ICC-NDRC will also develop bankable projects that will attract Chinese investors on this government-to-government platform. This initiative will move us to a much more profitable and efficient state,” The NNPC said.

“The master plan will form the basis of massive inflow of further investment from Chinese companies into the sector.”

On the road show, the corporation said it featured over 300 Chinese and Nigerian businessmen to attract investors from China and the Asian sub-region to invest in the country’s oil and gas sector.

The Nigerian delegation on the roadshow, which included a team of top management officials of the Corporation in the sector, was led by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe kachikwu.

The road-show was a follow-up to the earlier working visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to China in April.

The corporation commended the support of the companies that participated in the road-show and assured them of Federal Government’s transparency in ensuring growth in the sector. (NAN)