Nigeria, India seek deeper collaboration in energy sector

Nigeria and the Republic of India have pledged to work more closely to enhance energy security of both countries.  

The consensus came on the heels of Tuesday’s visit to the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru by the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria,  Abhay Thakur in Abuja.

According to a statement by the corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, Dr. Baru acknowledged the role of Indian companies in Nigeria, calling on them to extend their presence to the downstream sector of the Petroleum Industry to leverage on the enormous opportunities there.

The GMD assured the High Commissioner of NNPC’s commitment to further strengthen the existing relations between both countries in the energy sector.

He noted that with the refineries up for repairs, the corporation would need technical assistance from Indian companies.

Speaking earlier, the Indian High Commissioner, Thakur, commended Nigeria for its support to India in the area of energy security, stressing that Nigeria had been contributing significantly to India’s energy needs.

He said India was open to further strengthening its collaboration with Nigeria through regular dialogue and exchange of technical knowhow.

“Specifically, India is already sourcing almost 10% of its energy requirement from Nigeria and we look forward to further strengthening of this cooperation across various sources of energy, not only oil, but also in gas, solar energy and other renewable sources”, he said.

He commended the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, and the GMD on the successful hosting of the recently concluded Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) while assuring of his country’s continued support.

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