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The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, has announced that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth over $80 billion with Chinese firms as part of efforts to bridge the infrastructure funding gaps in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

Kachikwu said that the agreements cover investments in oil and gas pipelines, refineries, power, facility refurbishments, and upstream projects, according an NNPC statement released on Thursday.

The minister, who is also NNPC’s Group Managing Director, made the disclosure at the ongoing NNPC-China Investors’ Roadshow, which is holding from June 26th to 30th in Beijing. The roadshow was organized following the working visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to China in April this year.

Some of the Chinese companies that have signed MoUs with NNPC include the China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO), Cinda Engineering and Construction (CINDA), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec)/Addax Petroleum, the International Co-operation Centre of the National Development Reform and Commission of China (ICC-NDRC), amongst others.

The minister said the ICC-NDRC – which is in charge of implementing cooperation between the Chinese government and foreign governments and organizations – has committed to developing an overarching master plan for the Nigerian oil and gas sector that will include a detailed feasibility study of the current status of existing infrastructure in the industry.

“They will also develop bankable projects that would attract Chinese investors on this Government-to-Government platform,” Kachikwu said. “This initiative would move us to a much more profitable and efficient state. The master plan would form the basis of massive inflow of further investment from Chinese companies into the sector.”

Kachikwu also said that the China Roadshow is the first of many investor roadshows intended to the raise funds to support the federal government’s Oil & Gas Infrastructure Roadmap. The minister said other roadshows have been planned for India and the Gulf States.