Federal Government has hinted it is considering the possibility of pricing gas in naira to reduce the burden of impacts of exchange rate on the final consumers.
Speaking at a webinar organized by Nigerian Association Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timpre Sylva, assured that the government will look into it and consider both naira and dollar gas pricing.
Themed ‘Fiscal Regime, Design, Government Revenue & Investors Interest in Nigerian Oil & Gas Sector’, the Junior Minister said the matter would be presented before President Muhammadu Buhari on the possibility of including naira in payment options.
Although he said payment for the product is influenced by the international pricing standard, however, the Minister said he was willing to present the challenge before the President who doubles as the Petroleum Minister.
Payment for gas in dollars has been one of the front burner issues especially for indigenous power generation companies who most of the times complain of high exchange rate of dollar to naira.
Speaking on the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on investors’ revenue and investments in the sector, Mr Sylva said government is interested in reducing taxes and royalties on oil and gas assets as a way of encouraging more oil exploration and investments.