Rising petroleum products prices affecting businesses

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, says the recent increase in the prices of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel has adversely affected businesses.

Adebayo spoke yesterday at the Nigerian Content seminar during the Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) conference in Abuja.

The session had: “Expanding the Nigerian Content Frontier through Intra-African Trade” as the theme.

He said the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global energy transition to cleaner sources had made it imperative for stakeholders to develop new strategies that would aid the sustainable growth of the oil and gas industry.

Adebayo said: “As you know, the recent increase in the price of petrol, diesel and even aviation fuel has adversely affected businesses in Nigeria.

“Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) continue to depend on gasoline as usual for their businesses to survive even as larger companies try to diversify into gas and greener energy.

“Given that we have an estimated 40 million MSMEs in the country, you can see clearly that there is indeed a need for the conversation to continue.”

According to him, the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has provided the needed clarity that will spur investment, particularly in development of Nigeria’s abundant gas resources.

“The Federal Government has declared this decade as the decade for gas exploration and production as it intends to harness the country’s gas potential.

“We believe that this is an important step toward making gas an alternative source of energy in the country and the Act will serve as a catalyst for the development of the sector.

“As you are also aware, the Federal Government is intently encouraging investments into the gas sector.

“This is demonstrated by the number of incentives provided to the industry. In fact, the gas sub sector is one of the most incentivised in Nigeria,’’ he added.

Rising petroleum products prices affecting businesses

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