The Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Kachikwu (photo), has announced that a Chinese delegation is to visit the country this month for talks on the West African country's oil and gas industry.This is coming four months after the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) announced that it signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) worth $80 billion with Chinese companies for investment in Nigeria's oil and gas infrastructure.

“We are having a team of over 40 Chinese ... visiting Nigeria by the end of this month. I will say we have a one year period to work on this. We expect that some (investment) will come earlier,” Kachikwu said.

Nigeria, which used to be Africa's biggest oil producer, depend on the sales of crude oil for about 70% of national income but its oil and gas infrastructure are idle and requires updating.The country’s four refineries are inoperative due to poor maintenance and a series of attacks oil and gas facilities by militants in the southern Niger Delta energy region, has made Nigeria depend on costly imported fuel for 80% of energy needs, Energy-pedia reports.

The head of the upper house of parliament in September urged Nigeria to consider selling oil and other state assets in order to finance a budget deficit, driven by the decline in oil revenues that has pushed the country into recession.

AnitaFatunji