Sangster: Nigeria Must Remain Competitive Despite Global Energy Shift

By Emmanuel Addeh

The Managing Director of Total E&P Nigeria Limited, Mr. Mike Sangster, has stressed that Nigeria must remain competitive in the global energy market, despite the shifting focus on renewable sources of fuels.

Speaking at the opening of the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) at the State House, Abuja, on Monday, the Total Nigeria boss declared that the current transition to carbon free sources of energy would continue and urged the country to see the opportunities in the ongoing global development.

The Chairman of the Oil Producers’ Trade Section (OPTS), the umbrella body of major international and indigenous oil companies, stated that as the world progressively starts to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, all stakeholders must work to ensure that the country remains attractive for investment.

Sangster pointed out that the world was starting to see signs of a resurgence of global economic growth, explaining that this will present Nigeria with new opportunities to develop its abundant natural resources.

He added that 2020 accelerated momentum towards the energy transition and how there was substantial global reduction in demand for fossil fuels, saying that, “it’s clear to me that this trend will continue”.

“So, I think this really is a perfect opportunity for all the key actors, government regulators, national companies, private companies and all the suppliers to the industry to work together to ensure that Nigeria is competitive in the international landscape, and as an attractive destination for investment.

“It’s our hope, and indeed it’s our expectation that this will help to identify and proffer solutions towards ensuring the sustained development of Nigeria’s resources, particularly gas.

“This is the decade of gas. And I think, this would consequently boost investor confidence and attract investment to grow the industry for the benefit of all stakeholders and all Nigerians. So, the OPTS remains committed as a trusted partner of the government and all stakeholders in the industry to move the industry forward,” he said.

At the fourth edition of NIPS, Sangster used the opportunity to congratulate the Minister of State, Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, for the past successful summits, which he said have been a platform for highlighting the strong capabilities of the industry in Nigeria and the investment opportunities which are available.

“Now, the theme of this year’s summit as we already have is, ”From Crisis to Opportunities, New Approaches to the Future of Hydrocarbons,” and I’m sure we can all agree this really resonates with everyone in the room today, after a year full of all sorts of disruptions,” he noted.

He recalled the oil price war at the beginning of last year, then the pandemic which he said had some issues on oil demand and its impact on the sector as a whole and the entire value chain.