Saudi-like oil monopoly ‘ultimate goal’ for Nigeria: minister

Nigeria’s energy minister said on Monday that the Saudi Arabian state-owned oil monopoly Aramco was a model for his country’s restructuring national oil producer.

Odein Ajumogobia, who began as minister only six weeks ago, also stressed a “misalignment” between the objectives of private, foreign oil companies and the aspirations of the country.
“Saudi Aramco is perhaps the ultimate goal of where we would like to be, but we are a long way from that,” he said, referring to the Saudi kingdom’s oil monopoly, the biggest in the world.

His comments indicate the desire of the new Nigerian government to tighten control over production in the oil-rich African state, whose industry is dominated by joint ventures with foreign groups such as US giants ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco, Britain’s Shell, France’s Total or Italy’s Eni.

IC