From Uche Usim, Abuja
Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr Mele Kyari, has asked petroleum engineers and other relevant stakeholders in the oil and gas sector to join forces with the national oil company to achieve energy security.
He made the call in Abuja on Thursday, at the 2023 edition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum (OLEF) themed: “Effective Gas Resources Utilization: A Lever for Enhancing Energy Security and Achieving Net-Zero Emission Goals in Nigeria”.
He said: “We will continue to further deepen collaboration amongst all the relevant stakeholders; government security agencies, host communities and others to enhance our energy security. This will 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”
Kyari noted that the event came at a historic moment of energy relevance in the context of geopolitical realities, environmental concerns, while the immediate impact of dearth of investment on global commodity prices was gradually reshaping countries and companies’ energy decisions.
He noted that Nigeria as a resource rich country with opportunities to sustainably create prosperity, has maintained a strong posture of balanced energy transition that recognizes the role of hydrocarbons for years longer than anticipated by other jurisdictions.
We are therefore, leveraging the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act to attract more investment in the Nigerian Petroleum sector, to continue to guarantee access to energy while aligning with global energy transition.
“Nigeria’s huge natural gas reserves provides us with ready access to low-carbon energy to address energy poverty.
“Nigeria’s domestic gas infrastructure network has an existing capacity to transport about 6.9 Billion Standard Cubic Feet (BCF) of gas to support power generation and gas-based industries.
“Our huge investment in gas infrastructure is hinged on our growing natural gas reserves, thus supporting our Nation’s aspiration to create Africa’s biggest industrial hub powered by low-carbon energy. NNPC is taking advantage of Nigeria’s huge natural gas reserves of over 200 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) with a potential to grow to 600 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) as more investment is expected due to the recent resolution of the Production Sharing Contract disputes with partners. This significant reserve will serve as a low-carbon energy alternative that will support growth in the power and industrial sectors, address energy poverty, reduce carbon-footprint and create more employment opportunities”, he said.
Kyari added that the NNPC was working assiduously to ensure timely delivery of major domestic gas pipeline infrastructure projects including the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline corridor and associated power plants.
“NNPC is also making progress on the planned Nigeria-Morocco and the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipelines that will connect West African countries to deliver natural gas to the international markets.
“For the gas export market, the on-going NLNG Train 7 will expand Nigeria’s LNG production capacity from 22mpta about 30 million tons per annum (30 MTPA).
“As part of our sustainability strategy, NNPC is deploying carbon-reduction initiatives to gradually decarbonize our operations and improve our compliances with global emission reduction.
“In order to secure our relevance in the global energy market of today and the future, NNPC will leverage partnership with the Industry, Governments, Research Institutions and the Academia to strengthen its Renewable Energy Division to pursue commercially viable new energy ventures in line with Nigeria’s net-zero aspiration by 2060”, he added.