The Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, has negotiated a $15b investment with the Indian government for the oil and gas sector, Vanguard reported. India will provide the amount as upfront payments for crude oil sales over some years.
The Nigerian-Indian talks were held in New Dehli, during Kachikwu’s three-day official visit. India’s Petroleum Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed in December during the Petrotech-2016 International Conference. Under the terms of the agreement India will invest in refineries, as well as in exploration and production of oil and gas in the African country, according to Hindustan Times.
Additionally, the bilateral talks between the two countries included negotiations on long term contracts for supply of crude to Indian public sector companies from Nigeria and possibilities of having these firms execute compressed natural gas (CGD) and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) infrastructure projects in Nigeria.
Nigeria is one of the largest African trading partners for India which is dominated by the importation of crude oil and gas. Between 2015 and 2016, India imported nearly 23.7mt of crude, amounting to almost 12% of the country’s overall imports, and over 2mt of liquified natural gas (LNG) from Nigeria.
