Yemisi Izuora
The 6th Sustainability in the Extractive Industries, SITEI 2017 Conference would be focusing energy on how Nigeria can harness the estimated and promising potential inherent in the extractive industries.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), energy consumption will increase by 48 per cent from 2012 to 2040, and fossil fuels will continue to account for 78 per cent of the energy.
In addition, an average growth rate of 13.5 per cent between 2017 and 2020 is expected in global mining according to Fitch Group research arm BMI.
In a local industry assessment by PwC, mining activities may increase the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 10 per cent by 2020.
SITEI has therefore set a goal to ensure alignment with government’s plans of building local capacity for the extractive industries sector, the focus on the seven strategic minerals for the mining sector, the 7 Big Wins and the 20-point agenda to end militancy in the Niger Delta for the oil and gas sector.
Consequently, SITEI 2017 will create a platform to encourage private sector leadership in driving the agenda, whilst building the local capacity in our extractive sector to ensure that local entrepreneurs and investors seamlessly harness the opportunities in the sector, add value to the local economy, positively influence the development of ancillary industries, and make the sector competitive globally.
The 2017 SITEI Conference will be opened by Dr Ibe Kachikwu, Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, and will attract active participation from several international and local ministers in the sector including Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy General Secretary, United Nations; Nigeria; Dr Kayode Fayemi, Honourable Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Nigeria; and Ibrahim Jibril, Honourable Minister of State for Environment, Nigeria and over 500 senior executives from the extractive sector.