Olusegun Aganga, Nigerian minister of trade and investment, has revealed that the Onne oil and gas free trade zone (FTZ) has brought US$6 billion into the country since it was established in 1997
Aganga made the comments about the world’s only solely oil and gas focussed FTZ at the recent Oil & Gas Trade and Investment Forum 2012.
“The zone has attracted all the major oil companies who use Onne as a hub of their activities covering the whole of the Gulf of Guinea up to Angola in Southern Africa, positioning Nigeria as a major player in the oil and gas industry in sub-Saharan Africa,” BusinessDay quoted Aganga as saying.
The minister said that the Onne oil and gas free zone had witnessed the “registration of about 150 investors” and had created “well over 30,000 direct and indirect jobs” for both skilled and semi-skilled Nigerians.
“The existence of the Onne oil and gas free zone has contributed to the increase of economic activities at the Onne Port and the resultant increase in government revenue earnings, particularly, through the Nigeria Customs Service and Nigeria Ports Authority,” Aganga said.
