Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called on players in the maritime sector not to increase the landing cost of petroleum products as it will lead to increase in the price of petroleum products.
The Vice President made the plea during his keynote address at the 4th Annual Lecture and Awards ceremony of Valuechain Oil and Gas Magazine Monday in Abuja.
Speaking in the theme of the event: Enhancing synergy between oil and gas and maritime sector for greater value creation, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, noted that increasing landing costs charges for petroleum products would ultimately lead to increase in prices of petroleum products.
He said: “It could be counter productive as it would lead to increase in prices of PMS. Therefore, we urge that we keep this in view because of its implication to the economy.
“Mr. President has given approval for a downward review. This, we believe, will further bring down the price of petroleum products,” Osinbajo added.
He therefore urged all those present at the event to come up with a common ground that will lead to growth in the oil and gas and maritime industry.
For his part, Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mele Kyari said that the oil and gas sector was bleeding from all types of vices and it was only through collaboration with the maritime sector can it be effectively tackled.
According to the GMD, who was represented by Chief Operating Officer, NNPC, Engr. Yusuf Usman, there was a need to latch onto inter-industry synergy and take advantage of it.
“We have a great country but what is missing is synergy. We should look inward and strengthen the synergy between both sectors,” he added.
In his welcome address, the Publisher and Editor-In-Chief, Valuechain oil and gas magazine, Musa Bashir Usman, noted that the maritime sector had always been of strategic importance to the oil and gas industry since Nigeria began exporting crude oil.
“The importance of the two sectors is attested to by the value they add to the Nigerian economy. The maritime as well as the oil & gas sector have a greater potential contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Therefore, the benefits of strengthening the synergy among operators in the maritime and oil and gas sectors are enormous and this is important given the emergence of COVID-19 which has hit the global economy hard with many aspects of the pandemic affecting all the sectors put together. Other emerging challenges facing the maritime and oil and gas industries underscore the need for greater multisectoral collaboration. Industrywide collaborative opportunities for value creation are issues today’s event hopes to unlock,” the Publisher said.
