Tokyo — Oil and gas operations in the country are estimated to gulp an average of $11 billion annually thus making the sector a haven for investors, Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, has said.

Barkindo made the disclosure yesterday at the 2nd Nigeria-Japan Business and Investment Forum, which commenced yesterday in Tokyo, Japan.

The NNPC GMD told Japanese investors and Nigerian businessmen that the next phase of expansion in the oil and gas industry will create significant investment opportunities for investors from the Asian country.

He said that about $25 bn will be spent on procurement of materials, manufacturing and equipment leasing over the next five years.

Also, he said that over $8 bn will be earmarked for fabrication and construction in the upstream sector over the same corresponding period while over $500 million per annum will be spent on engineering design projects over the next five years.

Barkindo said that service sector opportunities exist in the banking and insurance and shipping and logistics.

He urged the Japanese investors to give meaning to the Kyoto Protocol by investing in upstream flare reduction projects, gas transportation network integrity and electricity generation and optimisation.

He acknowledged that Japanese companies have played a major role in the Nigerian oil and gas industry adding that the expansion in the sector will create a huge opportunity to leverage the Japanese technical and entrepreneurial capacity.

He said that when compared to other countries in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria's investment level over the last few years ranks high.

He noted that beyond the current capacity, Nigeria's hydrocarbon potential according to the US Geological Survey holds huge potential.

He said that estimates of undiscovered oil and gas reserves potential of 169bn boe and 600TCF respectively is large enough to support a sustained capacity expansion as envisaged in the strategy.

Barkindo said that apart from the Niger Delta basin and the Ultra Deep Basin of the Niger Delta, significant potential exists in Anambra, Benue, Bida, Chad, Dahomey Embayment/Benin and Sokoto Basins.