Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria, NAEC, will on Friday play host to the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN as it flags off the first discourse in its webinar series for 2020.
Themed: ‘Challenges and Impact of a Deregulated Downstream Sector on Nigeria’s Economy’, MOMAN Chairman, Tunji Oyebanji would be on ground as guest speaker where he is expected to dissect the challenges being faced by downstream stakeholders as the Nigerian government pursues a fully deregulated sector where prevailing market economics is allowed to dictate petroleum products prices as against government’s interferences.
Oyebanji is likewise expected to touch on what the Nigerian economy and downstream investors stand to gain from a fully deregulated sector, among other issues regarding the theme.
The Nigerian government had in March announced a deregulated downstream sector amidst the biting effects of the coronavirus pandemic that left even the biggest economies of the world with low income as a result of crashed crude oil prices at the international market.
Nigeria as an oil economy, suffered setbacks as the country resorted to partly borrowing to fund its revised 2020 N10.8 trillion national budget.
This along the line had led to the announced end-to-fuel-subsidy era, a move which had since shot up prices of petrol from N145 per litre before the pandemic, to N160 per litre.
Upon this premise was the NAEC inaugural webinar series based, as a means of creating an opportunity for players in the downstream sector, to air their challenges since deregulation was announced, and also to share their knowledge on the gains of allowing a full-fledged deregulated downstream sector in Nigeria.