Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
An offshore company from China has expressed its intention to invest additional $3 billion in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
The firm, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), had earlier invested over $14 billion in its Nigerian operations.
But during a meeting between its top executives and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) held in Abuja, the company said it was impressed with situations in the country and would raise its investment in Nigeria to over $17 billion.
CNOOC has existing stakes in offshore oil and gas operations in the Nigerian jurisdiction.
Chief Executive Officer of the Beijing based corporation, Mr Yuan Guangyu, who led the delegation to the corporate headquarters of NNPC, described the company’s investment in Nigeria as the most strategic and important overseas business undertaking.
Mr Guangyu called on the management of the NNPC to seek common grounds of beneficial interest with CNOOC for enhanced productivity.
He said Nigeria remains the largest investment destination for CNOOC.
In his remarks, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr Maikanti Baru, who was represented by NNPC’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ventures Autonomous Business Unit, Mr Victor Babatunde Adeniran, thanked CNOOC for its interest in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry.
He said the corporation was open to new investments and would foster meaningful and mutually beneficial relations with credible entities like CNOOC.
Founded in 1982, CNOOC is one of the three big Chinese national oil entities. It originally focused on offshore exploration and production, whereas the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is slanted towards onshore upstream exploration and production. SINOPEC, the third of the tripod, is focused on refining and marketing.
