Based on a proposed plan by the Nigerian government to the National Assembly, the country has turned its attention to crude oil to fund the 2017 fiscal plan where oil mineral resources are projected to provide 40% of the revenue, The Guardian reported.

Furthermore, one of the world’s leading credit rating agencies, Moody’s, has said that though Nigeria’s capital markets remain a reliable and captive source of liquidity and funding for the government, the oil and gas sector would play a significant role in getting Nigeria out of recession in 2017, informed Leadership.

Two-thirds of Nigeria’s 2017 real growth would come from the oil sector rebound alone, with a strong base effect expected in the second and third quarters. Moody’s further stated: “Nigeria’s large hydrocarbons reserves remain a key credit support: it has an estimated 37b barrels of oil (about 28% of total African reserves) and nearly 34b of oil-equivalent in gas.  Oil and gas exports tend to account for over 90% of goods exports and a significant share of fiscal revenue.”

Accordingly, the 2017 proposal based on the key assumptions and budgetary reform initiatives now envisages the total Federal Government revenue of just over $15b, which will exceed the 2016 projection by 28%. In the projected revenue, receipt from oil now is about $6.3b. The contribution of oil revenue is 40.2% compared to 19% cent in 2016, driven mainly by joint venturer companies (JVC) cost reduction, higher price, exchange rate and additional oil-related revenues.