The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Hon Ekperikpe Ekpo, has said that the federal government’s determination to advance the nation’s gas resources is the surest pathway to economic prosperity which will also reduce the cost of living in the country.
The minister, who stated this in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, when he visited the facilities and projects of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), where he serves as co-chair of its governing council, said that the policy would also assuage the clamour for good governance.
He stated that Nigeria was endowed with vast natural gas resources of about 209 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, emphasising the necessity to harness the resources effectively to drive economic development.
He underlined President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s unalloyed support to the gas sector, with initiatives extending to the entire value chain, notably gas development, distribution and penetration, stating that the federal government’s drive was geared to lower the cost of transportation, the cost of living and impact every part of the country positively.
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He listed some of the key initiatives his ministry is pursuing to include investments in critical gas infrastructure development to support the transportation and distribution of natural gas across the country, promotion of domestic gas utilisation for power generation, industrial applications and transportation, as well as strengthening NCDMB’s capacity to build capacity and enforce local content policies.
He said 60 per cent of NCDMB’s investments were gas-based and advised that new projects by the agency should focus on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) because of the direct impact on transportation and cost of living.
He lauded NCDMB for the remarkable strides it had made in promoting local content and for constructing the magnificent 17 storey headquarters which signified the impressive growth and depth of local capacity.
Ekpo added that the visit provided him an opportunity to meet with the management and staff of the board, learn more about the agency’s operations and discuss how to continue driving local content development in the nation’s gas sector.
In his welcome remarks, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Felix Omatsola Ogbe, assured the minister of the commitment of the management and staff to support the government’s economic aspirations.
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