The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has disclosed that it would be shopping for about 16.5 billion dollars to execute several oil and gas projects.

The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, said this at a function organised by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) on the margins of the annual Offshore Technology Conference going on in Houston.

Baru, who was represented by the Chief Operating Officer Gas and Power, Saidu Mohammed, at the meeting said the corporation would seek to raise about 13 billion dollars to 16.5 billion dollars over the next five years.

In an address titled “Global Energy Dynamics: Challenges and Opportunities in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Sector,” Baru said the NNPC had multi-billion dollar investment opportunities in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

Baru said the funds were geared towards developing seven giant gas fields at about seven billion dollars to nine billion dollars, upgrade the upstream assets of its subsidiary, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) with between six billion dollars to 7.5 billion dollars and build gas infrastructure and power plants with between $9 billion and 11 billion dollars.

“By coming here to the OTC, we are not only looking out for potential investors, we are looking at partners that will deploy their cutting-edge technology that will enable us achieve the goals we have set up for ourselves,” he said.

Baru said the opportunities had been segmented into upstream oil and gas development, gas infrastructure and power plants, refineries, downstream and the ventures and new businesses.

“In the upstream segment, NNPC plans to increase its oil reserve base to 40 billion oil barrels reserves by 2020, hence would raise up to about 16.5 billion dollars over the next five years.

“Under the gas infrastructure and power plants, there are investment opportunities ranging from nine billion dollars to 11 billion dollars. For the refineries, our plan is to rehabilitate and revamp our existing four refineries.

“When successfully rehabilitated and revamped, our plan is to upgrade their combined nameplate capacity from 445,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 700,000 bpd within the next few years.

“We would require investments of between five billion dollars to six billion dollars,” he said.

He said other areas the NNPC was seeking  investors were “the construction and laying of 897 kilometres gas pipelines which would cost between two billion  dollars to three  billion dollars; design, construction and operation of Western Central Processing Facility (CPF) with 2.6 billion dollars.

Others are the design, construction and operation of Eastern CPF and construction of three power plants with generation capacity of 3,150 megawatts (MW).

He also showcased the downstream segment where he said opportunities abound in the construction of new crude and product pipelines, pumping station upgrades, revamp of LPG plants, construction of new LPG storage tanks, filling stations, and equipment supply.

In the Ventures and New Business Segment, Baru said opportunities existed in the establishment of pipe mills, equipment leasing (Rigs, FPSOs) and operations & maintenance services among other segments.

Others also are construction of gas storage/Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) fillings as well as development of multi-specialist hospitals.

According to him, oil and gas resources will still be relevant in the global energy mix for a long time to come as inferred from the global demand and supply forecasts.

“The Nigerian Petroleum Industry remains by far the largest and  most vibrant in Sub-Saharan Africa with lots of potentials, especially in the deep water and untapped gas resources and refining.

“We invite you all to come and participate in this process,” he said. (NAN)