The fourth edition of the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS 2021) will be a pan-African platform to chart the way forward for the oil and gas industry on the back of production adjustments, COVID-19 induced economic downturn and an energy transition that leaves no one behind, Nigeria minister of state for petroleum resources, Timpre Sylva has said.
The Summit will take place from March 29th – April 1st, 2021 in Abuja. The federal government of Nigeria is the host of the annual petroleum industry event.
Some of the unique content the 4th edition of NIPS will feature include: Governors forum; Petroleum and Energy Industry Executive forum, Ministerial keynote/Debate Session; Technology forum on Digital Transformation; Oil Market forum; Oil & Money Session; Geopolitics forum; Breakfast Briefings and Corporate Keynote amongst others.
More importantly, NIPS 2021 will provide the platform to chart the way forward for Africa’s oil and gas industry amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The low crude oil prices coupled with reduced output as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic can see Africa’s oil producers face billions of dollars in lost oil revenue,” the Minister said.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has indeed weighed heavily on the global economy especially the oil and gas industry.
The lockdown measures and travel bans and grounding of international flights led to heavy reduction in energy demand and consumption across the globe.
Partial and complete lockdown strategy which was used to deal with the pandemic further curtailed industrial and commercial activities thereby reducing consumption of fuel further and pushing the oil prices down to $23.36 at a point.
It is projected that global oil demand may shrink by 15 – 20 million barrels of oil per day (mbpd) due to the impact of the pandemic on the heavy oil consuming economies.
“The next one to two years will indeed be very challenging and one of the sectors that will see significant challenges is the oil sector, globally and in Africa,” says James Shindi, Managing Director, Brevity Anderson, event producers of NIPS.
Shindi also posited that the evolving economic situation could also provide an opportunity for African oil producing countries to explore how economies can be diversified away from reliance on oil; maximize the local value added of the oil value chain; increase cross border trade and investment between African countries and engender creativity through expanding deployment of renewables in the power sector. NIPS 2021, according to Shindi, is the African-focused Petroleum Business and Technology Strategic Conference/Exhibition to deal with these issues.
The scope of the event has been expanded to incorporate the latest industry trends and topical issues that are at the forefront of every energy leader’s agenda. It has also become the platform for industry players for the public and private sectors to interact, transact and develop agenda for government and support Nigeria’s role in galvanizing other global players in addressing challenges in the industry.
The Nigeria International Petroleum Summit is a programme of the Federal Government of Nigeria, under the supervision of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and produced by Brevity Anderson Consortium.
Over the past three editions, the event has witnessed the highest level of attendance by top decision makers from both the public and private sectors.
By Peace Obi