The Nigerian Senate has stated that it will put a stop to the exporting of only crude oil by international oil companies (IOC) News About Nigeria reports.
This was disclosed in a statement by the chairman of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Akpoti-Uduaghan, on Friday.
She noted that this conclusion was reached after a meeting with the NCDMB in Abuja.
According to her, the committee will invite the international oil companies and other relevant government agencies to compel the companies to create tangible value in the Nigerian economy beyond the extraction and sale of crude oil.
“We need to get them round the table and tell them what we want as a country as against watching them export crude oil only,” she said.
Akpoti-Uduaghan further criticised the international oil companies in Nigeria for not investing in the petrochemical sub-sector and other associated manufacturing activities, noting that IOCs in other oil-producing jurisdictions make such investments and contribute significantly to those economies.
She maintained that there is a need to deepen the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act to create employment opportunities from the activities in the oil industry and catalyse other sectors of the economy.
She also assured all that the committee would not antagonise the board and other entities under its supervision but would collaborate towards effective implementation of the board’s mandate for the benefit of Nigerians.
According to research by Grand View, the global petrochemicals market was valued at $619 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.3 percent from 2024 to 2030.
