President Muhammadu Buhari may have concluded plans to begin full deregulation of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, which will bring the current oil subsidy regime to an end.

The new Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Thursday, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, gave the indication while canvassing for speedy deregulation of the nation’s oil and gas industry.

Kachikwu spoke at the 2015 National Association of Energy Correspondents conference, held in Lagos on Thursday.

The NNPC boss, who was represented by the Acting Managing Director of Nigeria Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO), Bolanle Ashafa, said deregulation would encourage domestic private sector participation and inflow of foreign investments and provide a fair deal for Nigerians from the abundant petroleum resources, through fair product prices for consumers, full cost recovery, and reasonable margins for operators.

“Implementation of the policy will entrench efficiency in product usage, product availability and effective competition among investors, hence ending products shortage.

“However, critical enablers such as security of supply and distribution infrastructure must be assured to guarantee the availability of the petroleum products at affordable prices,” he said.

According to him, “Removal of price control mechanisms is deemed imperative to ensure full growth of the sub-sector, by allowing private stakeholders to complement the effort of government in developing the industry.”

While reassuring Nigerians that NNPC would continue to maintain stability in the supply and distribution of petroleum products nationwide, Kachikwu noted that the Nigerian oil and gas industry would be transformed for greater efficiency and sustainable growth, through market reforms, diversification of the revenue base and monetisation of the natural gas resources.

“We will focus on the need to address infrastructure constraints, to ensure sustainability of gas and petroleum products supply and distribution nationwide.

“We will be tackling infrastructure gaps and promoting inclusive growth, as well as capacity building,” he said.

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