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Onne Oil & Gas Free Zone offers incentives to foreign company

By NAN
13 February 2017   |   10:37 am
The Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Intels Nigeria Ltd., Mr Patrick Bird, has said that the Onne Oil & Gas Free Zone offers enormous incentives to foreign companies to invest in Nigeria.

Onne Oil & Gas Free Zone

The Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Intels Nigeria Ltd., Mr Patrick Bird, has said that the Onne Oil & Gas Free Zone offers enormous incentives to foreign companies to invest in Nigeria.

A statement by Intels on Monday noted that Bird said this on the sidelines of the “Oil And Gas Free Zones Stakeholders Forum’’ organised by the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA).

The stakeholders’ forum was declared open by the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar.

The Intels chief said the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone created an environment necessary to support Nigeria’s economic and industrial development.

According to Bird, Intels, along with government, developed the zone to provide an oil service centre for onshore and offshore operations.

“It is also providing West Africa and greater sub-Saharan oil and gas industry easy access and duty-free distribution facilities,’’ the chief commercial officer said.

Bird highlighted some benefits of the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone, which accommodated 170 companies including 100 per cent repatriation of capital investment.

“Full remittance of profits and dividends, zero Customs tariffs on exports and non-requirement of import or export licenses,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes him as saying.

He also said that all goods manufactured in the Free Zone could be sold in the Nigerian market.

“The Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone helps Nigeria maximize its natural resources to attract foreign investments and create employment.

“Enhance the welfare of the people, aid technology transfer and the overall economic development of the country,’’ NAN quotes Bird as saying.

He said the success of the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone had led to the creation of similar zones in Warri and Lagos.

Bird also commended the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) for hosting the stakeholders’ forum to deepen investments in the Free Zone.

The Managing Director of OGFZA, Mr Umana Umana, said the Stakeholders’ Forum provided an opportunity to introduce the agency’s new leadership to stakeholders.

“Show them the way we intend to work together to recreate the OGFZA and rebuild prosperity for all in successful partnerships between government and private investors in the Free Zones.

“The path of the new OGFZA is well laid out in our road map which we are unveiling today, along with our Marketing Brochure.

“To guide existing and potential investors to the array of incentives available in our Free Zones.

“The road map is a product of our vision to be the premier investment promotion agency of government by facilitating the establishment of businesses in the Oil and Gas Free Zones with the creation of an enabling environment for investment,’’ Umana said.

He said that OGFZA would improve the ease of doing business and overall service delivery to investors in line with global best practices.

“We will make the Free Zones the first ports of call for investors who are looking for the best opportunities in Africa, to either expand their existing businesses or start new ventures.

“We are thus at the threshold of a new future that will take the continuing support of government and the commitment of stakeholders to build,” NAN quotes Umana as saying.

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