The Federal Government is open to onshore and natural gas investments in Nigeria by the Turkish government, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has said.
He disclosed this at a bilateral meeting with the Turkish Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alpersen Bayraktar, on the sidelines of the ongoing CERA Week in Houston, Texas.
Sylva said Nigeria was opened to more Turkish investments in the hydrocarbon sector, especially with the planned divestments of some international oil companies from the onshore segments of the industry.
He was quoted in a statement issued by his media aide, Horatius Egua, as saying, “We are looking at the possibilities of Turkey taking interests in more investments in Nigeria.
“Now that IOCs such as Shell, Exxon Mobil and others are planning to divest from onshore assets, more investments in that sector would be a great opportunity for Turkey to expand its investments interest in Nigeria.”
The minister said the cooperation between Nigeria and Turkey was very significant and that both countries could extend their relationship in energy and other areas of trade.
Sylva stated that with the new Petroleum Industry Act Nigeria had further streamlined its laws in the oil and gas investment environment and thus making investments in the oil and gas sector of the economy more attractive to potential investors.
He called on the deputy minister to encourage Turkish investors to come to Nigeria to participate in the new opportunities offered by the exit of the IOCs to consolidate the bilateral relations between both countries.
Sylva assured Bayraktar of a good return on investments in Nigeria, stressing that despite plans by the IOCs to divest from onshore assets, the companies were ramping up investments in offshore assets in the country.
This, he said, was a sign that the Nigeria investment environment was still the desired investment destination in Africa.
He said Nigeria was also open for Turkish investors to take up investments in greenfield assets, adding that the country was prepared to engage in discussions on a government-to-government basis to achieve the desired results.
Bayraktar, on his part, sort the support of Sylva to get Turkey to be part of the Nigerian upstream oil and gas sector.
He said Turkey was prepared to shore up investments in the area of natural gas in Nigeria if given the opportunity.
