The Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Usra Harahap, said Nigeria exported crude oil and gas worth over $3.8 billion to Indonesia in 2023.
In a statement by Oluwakemi Ogunmakinwa, Deputy Director of Press and Public Relations at the petroleum ministry revealed, Harahap stated this on Wednesday in Abuja during a courtesy visit to Nicholas Ella, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
Harahap expressed Indonesia’s interest in deepening its collaboration with Nigeria in the oil and gas sector. “We are looking for ways to maintain and improve the beneficial cooperation and relationship we have held for the past 59 years.”
The Ambassador emphasized the mutual interest of both countries in the oil and gas sector and expressed a desire for further collaboration, noting that discussions on establishing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the oil and gas sector, which had been suspended since 2017, should be resumed.
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Harahap also mentioned Indonesia’s interest in a 2023 offer by Enugu State to build a 500-megawatt capacity gas power plant as part of the collaboration efforts.
In response, Ella acknowledged Indonesia as a long-standing friend of Nigeria. He assured Harahap that the MoU and the Enugu gas plant project would be reviewed, and other areas of mutual interest would be explored.
Nigeria exports crude oil and gas to numerous countries, earning a substantial portion of its foreign exchange from these exports.
In 2023, the country earned N29 trillion from crude oil exports, marking a significant 37% increase compared to the previous year.
This surge was attributed to increased oil production and the devaluation of the Nigerian currency, making oil exports more profitable.
