Buhari inaugurates National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre in Lagos
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President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday inaugurated the National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre (NOGEC) Lagos, aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s position as a regional leader in the oil and gas industry.
Buhari said the establishment of NOGEC, situated at the Lagos Annex of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), would enhance safety, value and cost efficiency in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
He said: “NOGEC aligns with the administration’s commitment to fostering stability, growth and sustainability of the Nigerian oil and gas industry for economic development.
Deji Elumoye, Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Dike Onwuamaeze in Lagos
President Muhammadu Buhari has raised concerns over the nation’s huge revenue losses due to leakages arising from activities of revenue-generating agencies and has mandated the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other revenue-generating agencies to forthwith block such leakages.
He has also directed strict compliance with regulations on tax payment by both local and foreign companies, stressing that no firm should be exempted from tax payment.
Besides, the president also pledged to continue the federal government’s diversification of the economy through the efficient use of revenues from oil and gas resources.
By Peter Uzoho
The federal government has stated that the National Oil and Gas Excellence Centre (NOGEC) Lagos would enable the country to reduce by half its annual cost of operations in both offshore and remote locations.
The Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Timipre Sylva, stated this yesterday in Lagos at the launch of the NOGEC and added that the projected 50 per cent reduction would lead to the realisation of the $10 per barrel oil production cost target.
The centre, which is sited at the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR)’s annex in Lagos, was launched virtually in Abuja by President Muhammadu Buhari, who said that the centre would enhance oil and gas contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and strengthen Nigeria’s position as Africa’s leader in oil and gas industry.