By Chineme Okafor in AbujaÂ
France on Tuesday disclosed that it has set aside about €1 billion to invest in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, adding that Nigeria would remain its first economic trading partner in Africa.
According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Denys Gauer, stated this when the Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division of the corporation, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, with a delegation, paid him a visit in his office in Abuja.
Gauer was quoted to have said in a statement from the NNPC, which was signed by Ughamadu, that the €1billion was put in place by the French Development Agency to encourage French investors to invest in Nigeria’s oil sector. He however did not disclose specific details on the fund’s application.
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He noted that the French government was also cooperating with the federal government in its fight against the Boko Haram insurgency in North-east of Nigeria.
Gauer equally commended the government for stemming the Niger Delta insecurity situation, and explained that Total, a French multinational oil company, had significant investment equity in the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) and Egina deep water oil project.
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Details later…
