World Bank may help Abuja with oil reforms

ABUJA, Nigeria, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Nigeria aims to court the World Bank to help with reform measures meant to create an attractive investment environment in the oil and gas sector, ministers say.

Nigerian lawmakers blasted their oil minister for delays on a measure meant to rebuild the domestic infrastructure as the country wrestles with declining fuel resources.

Rilwanu Lukman, the Nigerian oil minister, asked the World Bank for help with technical assistance to advance the reform bill for the oil and gas industry, the Nigerian newspaper Next reports.

The bill is undergoing deliberations in Nigeria's national assembly.

"Our objective in the reform program is to create the most conducive environment for the Nigerian oil and gas industry to strive in an increasingly challenging global energy scene," said Lukman. "The global nature of our industry dictates that we should run it according to international best practices."

Lawmakers note the oil and gas industry proposed a $10.7 billion budget for 2010, which is $3.5 billion more than the previous year.

Lukman's statements come in the wake of new warnings from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the main militant group, which broke a cease-fire agreement on the Nigerian oil sector in early February.

Violence and political instability are costing the oil-rich country dearly in terms of production. Production levels dropped nearly 30 percent in recent years, costing the government $1 billion a month in lost oil revenue.