The data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that $133.51 million foreign capital inflow into the petroleum industry translated to an investment of N40.95 billion.
According to the analysis of the NBS, in the first quarter of 2018, the petroleum industry recorded the highest foreign capital inflow with $85.62 million.
Further analysis revealed that foreign investment inflow depreciated by 70.97 percent to $24.85 million in the second quarter of 2018, dropping further by 68.9 percent to $7.73 million in the third quarter of 2018, while in the fourth quarter, $15.31 million foreign investment flowed into the sector, representing an improvement of 98.06 percent compared to the third quarter figure.
The report by a local newspaper, the Vanguard on Tuesday stated that In 2017, the report showed that foreign investment inflow of $101.08 million, $190.39 million, $16.07 million and $23.83 million were recorded in the first, second, third and fourth quarters respectively.
The report further stated that foreign inflow into the petroleum industry accounted for 0.79 percent of total capital inflow into the general economy, compared to 2.71 percent in 2017.
The Nigerian oil industry accounts for over 80 percent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings.