OREANDA-NEWS. Protocol: It gives me great pleasure to attend the Nigeria – South Africa Business Forum and to address this distinguished forum on “The Investment Opportunities in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector”. The ties between Nigeria and South Africa are historic ones, both nations being resource rich in their own ways and leading economies in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Nigeria is the second largest economy in Africa (after South Africa) with a GDP on purchasing power parity of USD 418 Billion and ranked 31st largest economy in the world. In the last decade, the Nigerian economy has grown at an average rate in excess of 6.5% and with a population estimated at 160 million is the largest market in Africa.

Based on the foregoing, the Nigerian economy has been rated as one of the fastest growing in the world and to coin the phrase by Goldman Sachs, it is firmly in the group referred to as “The Next Eleven”.

It is therefore of particular importance, that both Nigeria and South Africa as the two biggest economies collaborate in unlocking the full potential of Africa’s development. Naturally, the prominence of Nigeria’s oil and gas resources (10th and 12th largest in oil and gas reserves respectively) means that this sector offers world scale opportunities for investment.

It is in this context that I shall be discussing investment opportunities in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

I am honoured to be invited to speak at this very important “IHS CERA’s annual Executive Conference’’ and to make some remarks on the “Drivers of Change: Geopolitics, Economics and the Energy Future.”

Natural resources, politics and economics have always been inextricably linked. The significance of oil throughout the 20th and 21st centuries is clear to see from our recent past. Wars have been fought over oil; economies have been driven into recession over oil prices. The author of “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power” – Mr. Daniel Yergin, has been one of the most important raconteurs of this inter-relationship and therefore I feel honored to be here at this forum to reflect on the opportunities and challenges this poses to our energy future.