The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, H.E. Chief Timipre Sylva yesterday, received the Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of the United States of America, Kathleen FitzGibbon who led a delegation on a courtesy visit.
They had a robust conversation that fully explored the Ten Key Priority Areas as set out by Chief Sylva and considerably dwelt on the completion of the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme which has received immense support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
On the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), Sylva revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari is wholly committed to ensuring that it becomes a reality while name-checking the focus on increasing mutually beneficial terms for Investors and Nigerians.
The visiting team affirmed the readiness to deepen US-Nigeria mutual interests in the oil and gas sector while applauding the move to bolster the domestic refining capacity of Nigeria. Chief Sylva shared some of the ongoing efforts to restore the existing Refineries to name-plate capacity with the attendant savings to the Nation that will accrue from reduced freight costs resulting from imports of refined products.
Other members of the delegation include; Sean Cely (Deputy Economic Counselor), Arnold Abulime (Political Specialist), Shashank Iyer (Political Officer, US Consulate), Johnson Abah (Political Officer, US Embassy) and Edward La Farge (Senior Power Sector Advisor, USAID).
Olujimi Oyetomi
Head, Press Unit
Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigeria
October 09, 2019
