Oil Sector Foreign Investments Dips by 0.5%

Nigeria’s foreign capital investments in the oil and gas sector has dropped from $720m in 2016 to $3.64m in the entire 2023, this is representing a 0.5 decrease in the industry.

According to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the country also recorded no foreign capital investment in the first quarter of 2024.

The report also shows that out of the $3.38bn capital importation into Nigeria in the first three months of 2024, the petroleum industry got nothing.

Capital importation is the inflow of foreign capital into a country, typically in the form of investments, loans, or other forms of financial resources.

This can include Foreign Direct Investment, and portfolio investment such as investments in a country’s financial assets like stocks, bonds, and securities.

It can also be in the form of short-term loans, deposits, or other forms of temporary capital inflows.

The petroleum sector’s zero capital importation in Q1 2024 indicates that no foreign capital was invested in the sector during that period, which could potentially impact the sector’s development and growth.

Even as the total capital importation went up by 198.06 per cent to $3.38bn compared to $1.13bn recorded in Q1 2023, the sector that gives the highest revenue to the country attracted no foreign investment within the period under review.

The banking sector recorded the highest inflow with $2.07bn, representing 61.24 per cent of total capital imported in Q1 2024, followed by the trading sector, valued at $494.93m (14.66 per cent), and the production/manufacturing sector with $191.92m (5.68 per cent).

The marketing, consultancy, and construction sectors received inflows valued at $60,000, $300,000, and $610,000, respectively, but the oil and gas sector recorded no investment.