FG Urges Turkey to Invest in Nigeria’s Onshore Oil Assets

The Nigerian government yesterday urged Turkish authorities to consider funding major oil and gas projects in the West African country, in light of the planned exit of major international oil companies (IOCs).

Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, said during a bilateral meeting with the Turkish Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alpersen Bayraktar, on the sidelines of the ongoing CERAWeek in Houston, Texas, that Nigeria was open to foreign investment.

A number of foreign oil companies operating in the country, including Shell, Nigeria’s largest partner in the industry, and ExxonMobil, plan to sell off many of their assets in the country.

Sylva stated that the planned divestments, particularly from the onshore segment of the oil and gas sector, would be worth the country’s investment.

“Now that IOCs such as Shell, ExxonMobil, and others are planning to divest onshore assets.” More investments in that sector would be a great opportunity for Turkey to expand its investment interest in Nigeria, according to the minister.