On behalf of the NESH team, I wish to use this opportunity of the beginning of countdown to the 2017 NESH Oil and Gas Roundtable to restate the reasons for organizing this event and also update you on our preparations.

Following the rapidly advancing irrelevance of fossil fuel as a source of energy globally due to increasing use of renewable energy and banning of the production of petrol and diesel automobiles by most industrialized countries by the year 2040, there is urgent need for the maximization of the country's earnings from oil and gas within the next 10-15 years before the impending drastic irreversible fall in demand for fossil fuel.

To achieve that objective a key condition is sustainable peace in the oil and gas producing areas which will help drive down cost of production and assist the country in meeting its OPEC production quota. A major precondition for peace as agreed by most stakeholders is the rapid and sustainable development of the oil and gas producing areas to catch up for past neglect and the preparation for a post oil economy.

While the political matter of resource control and derivation is being sorted out, there is general agreement for more efficient utilization of current revenue stream accruing to oil and gas producing states for the benefit of the masses. It is in that regard that Nigeria and Entrepreneurship: Summit & Honors (NESH) team, has made the main theme of this event to be "Peace and Sustainable Development of Nigeria Oil and Gas Producing areas" and packaged a special session to bring together key and impactful stakeholders to discuss and device a new template for rapid development of the Oil and Gas producing areas that will reinforce and complement existing institutions and roadmaps, through a more robust Private and Public sector Partnership. Another session at the Roundtable will also have experts discussing the subject of mini/modular refineries which is a key item on the 16 point demand presented to the Federal Government by the Pan Niger Delta Forum as necessary condition for sustainable peace in the oil and gas producing areas.

So far, the following Stakeholders and organizations have confirmed their participation:

• PAN NIGER DELTA DEVELOPMENT FORUM (PANDEF)
• NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
• FEDERAL MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM RESOURCES
• FEDERAL MINISTRY OF NIGER DELTA AFFAIRS.
• NIGER DELTA DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (NDDC)
• OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL ADVISER TO THE PRESIDENT ON NIGER DELTA AFFAIRS AND AMNESTY PROGRAM
• NIGERIAN CONTENT DEVELOPMENT AND MONITORING BOARD (NCDMB)
• OIL AND GAS PRODUCING STATES.
• BRACED COMMISSION
• NIGERIA NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION ( NNPC)
• INTERNATIONAL OIL COMPANIES (IOCs)
• NIGERIAN INDEPENDENT OIL AND GAS PRODUCERS
• AFRICA FINANCE CORPORATION (AFC)
• DEVELOPMENT BANK OF NIGERIA (DBN)
• NIGERIA SOVEREIGN INVESTMENT AUTHORITY (NSIA)
• NIGERIA MORTGAGE REFINANCE COMPANY (NMRC)
• BANK OF INDUSTRY (BOI)
• BANK OF AGRICULTURE (BOA)
• SOUTH EAST SOUTH SOUTH PROFESSIONALS OF NIGERIA ( SESSPN)
• NIGER DELTA ENERGY CORRIDOR PROJECT PROMOTERS

After the Roundtable there will be a Dinner reception for some off the participants during which NESH in partnership with some Stakeholders will be presenting NESH PEACE HONORS to 14 Public and Private sector individuals who played important roles in bringing about the present relative peace in the Niger Delta. The NESH Peace Honorees are:

Efforts at creating a more conducive environment for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector will receive fresh impetus Friday, (October 13, 2017) as vice president Yemi Osinbajo will lead an array of industry experts and other dignitaries to a brainstorming session in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

Professor Osinbajo is expected to deliver the keynote address at the event billed to take place at the prestigious Grand Hotel while Minister of Petroleum, State, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu will present a paper.

The forum is a one-day event with the theme: “Peace and Sustainable Development in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Areas”, organised by the leading advocacy group, Nigeria Entrepreneur (Summit & Honours) NESH, for short.

NESH founder, Emeka Ugwu-oju had stated that the event had become necessary to create a road map for optimizing the benefits of Nigeria’s hydrocarbon resources against the background of not only declining crude prices but the decision by most European countries to migrate from fossil fuels for automobiles to other alternatives.

He noted that this cannot be achieved without peace in the Niger Delta, a factor necessary for driving down costs and building stakeholder confidence in the environment. His words: “It is in that regard that Nigeria and Entrepreneurship: Summit & Honors (NESH) team, has made the main theme of this event to be "Peace and Sustainable Development of Nigeria Oil and Gas Producing areas" and packaged a special session to bring together key and impactful stakeholders to discuss and device a new template for rapid development of the Oil and Gas producing areas that will reinforce and complement existing institutions and roadmaps, through a more robust Private and Public sector Partnership.

“Another session at the Roundtable will also have experts discussing the subject of Mini/Modular refineries which is a key item on the 16 point demand presented to the Federal Government by the Pan Niger Delta Forum as necessary condition for sustainable peace in the oil and gas producing areas,” he said.

Top oil industry players, finance experts, investors and notable advocacy groups have all confirmed their participation at the event to be hosted by the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa.

The choice of the Delta State capital is seen as a masterstroke aimed at showing key stakeholder groups in the Niger Delta sub-region that the development of the region will remain on the front-burner until it is settled. Areas of emphasis include infrastructure, industrialization, local content management, capacity building and funding of small and medium scale enterprises in the region.

As part of the event, NESH has incorporated in the program interviews with high net worth Nigerians, to provide a broader knowledge pool for result-oriented stakeholder engagement in the area.

The event will be rounded off with a dinner at which ‘thank you” plaques will be presented to 10 private and public sector individuals for their roles in bringing about the relative peace prevailing in the region.