Yemisi Izuora
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has assured that the country would soon witness a dramatic change in its entire energy landscape with the completion of ongoing gas projects.
The Group Chief Executive Officer, of the Company Mele Kyari, emphasized that the on-going NLNG Train 7 would expand Nigeria’s LNG production capacity to about 30 million tons per annum (30 MTPA).
Kyari, who stated this at the 9th Sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC), in Lagos with the theme “Building Africa’s Future: Advancing Local Content and Sustainable Development in the Oil and Gas Industry” said this was in addition to the planned Nigerian-Morocco and the Trans Sahara Gas Pipeline projects which would supply gas to sub-regional African countries and subsequently Europe.
He said though oil and gas remained a significant component of energy the global energy mix and would remain so even in the next 50 years, added that the Company was working towards increasing production by unlocking more opportunities across the oil and gas value chain, gas infrastructure development, compressed natural gas (CNG) Market penetration, increasing refining capacity and driving sustainability initiatives.
He noted that the oil and gas sector currently contributes the largest percentage to the continent’s energy mix with renewable energy sources evolving to improve access to needed energy.
To achieve success in the oil and gas business, Kyari said there was the need to balance energy transition, market realities and energy security to be driven largely by availability of indigenous resources, strengthening local content, indigenous capacity development, regional cooperation and collaboration.
He added to redefine the energy landscape for a sustainable energy future, there was also the need to focus on several key areas such as Energy Transition, Energy Efficiency, Energy Investment, Cost Efficiency, Gas and Renewable Energy Development.
Other key enablers will be policy and regulatory support, regional collaboration and training as well as technology, innovation and research.
According to Kyari, energy demand is expected to rise globally with Africa’s population as a driving force.
To ensure Nigeria’s energy mix is tilted towards clean and reliable energy sources, he noted that Nigeria had declared 2021-2030 as Decade of Gas towards a gas-powered economy with natural gas, giving its credentials, as major source of power generation (complemented by the renewables), and as feedstock to gas-based industries (petrochemicals).
Africa plays a major and critical role in guaranteeing energy availability, energy affordability and energy sustainability to boost economic growth; and the key players to achieve this are all gathered at this very important event.
The Group Chief Executive added that geographically, sub-Saharan Africa had an advantage to capitalise on the advancements made in the oil and gas industry to meet the energy demands, guarantee energy supply, reduce import dependency, expand our economies and overall build a sustainable future for millions of people beyond our shores.
He acknowledged that indeed, the global energy landscape was dynamic and changing as the years went by. One aspect of the global dialogue on energy is unquestionable: “energy plays a critical role in society, human growth, and people’s quality of life”. This statement still holds true now and will continue to do so, he stated.
The Group Chief Executive admitted the gathering presented an excellent opportunity for member countries to convene, network and discuss shared goals, initiatives, investment opportunities for cooperation, and create a common platform that will effectively tackle issues and accomplish shared objectives.
He promised that NNPCL would continue to further deepen collaboration amongst all the relevant stakeholders which would require provision of adequate and timely investments to build resilient energy systems capable of delivering energy to support socio-economic development in a sustainable manner in the African continent and beyond.
The NNPC Limited is also investing heavily in critical gas infrastructure such as the Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline and the OB3 gas interconnector to support 5 Bscf/d of domestic gas utilisation including 5GW of power generation capacity by developing power plant projects along the AKK pipeline corridor and across the country to complement the existing ones.