Posts
Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun has said that Nigeria might use money
set aside for funding joint venture projects with foreign and local oil
firms to make up any shortfall in the 2016 budget if government revenue
projections are not met, Reuters reports.
When asked how the budget would be funded if revenue projections fell
short, Adeosun said; “If the revenue doesn’t come in we have got 1
trillion (naira) in the budget for cash calls. We will not fund those
cash calls from the budget”. Cash calls are the government’s financial
obligations to joint venture projects between state oil firm NNPC and
international and local oil companies.
“We will force those cash calls out into the modified carrier
arrangement and we will release that money back into the federation
account. That’s where the fiscal buffer sits,” she added. Modified Carry
Agreements are loans provided by oil majors to NNPC for investing in
oil exploration and production projects. Nigeria’s oil and gas output
has been relatively stagnant as new projects have been held up by delays
in government funding for its share of joint ventures with foreign and
local firms.
0 comments: