Kyari: Nigeria Leading Africa’s Drive for Investments in Infrastructure to Boost Gas Exports

Peter Uzoho

The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, yesterday said Nigeria was leading the drive for massive investments in critical gas infrastructure in Africa to boost the export of the product to Europe and other continents.
Kyari stated this during a panel session at the ADIPEC Strategic Conference holding in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.

The panel session focused on how leadership and organisational agendas were changing as the industry navigates the evolving global energy landscape.
Contributing at the panel, the NNPC GCEO said the energy transitioning aspiration has changed the dynamics of the global oil and gas industry.
He noted that currently, the global community was faced with a stark reality of sourcing for cleaner energy, adding that within this context, Nigeria has adopted gas as its transition fuel.

Kyari stated that the federal government recognised the importance of gas to the global energy mix, stressing that this was why huge investments were being made in the sector.

Currently working with the government of Morocco, he said Nigeria was building a gas pipeline infrastructure.
Kyari said, “There are very stark realities that we are facing. Of course, it is also true that there is a huge impact of our business on climate. So, that is also real, we have the finance, we have to face the reality of today and the truth is that we do need the energy of today.

“What we are doing is to build that capacity to clean and refined capacity so that we can take care of our current needs and transit gradually, utilise the resources of today and ultimately use gas as a transition fuel.”

The GCEO, however, observed that Nigeria cannot achieve the foregoing aspirations without adequate infrastructure, adding that Africa has one of the largest oil producing countries and the largest resources with over 203 trillion cubic feet of gas and over 200 billion barrels of oil.

“But we know that we have the resources that can be of help to everyone and that is why we are engaging in the West African sub-region including Morocco and all the way to Europe to create a backbone infrastructure that will take gas from Nigeria all the way to eleven countries into Morocco and hopefully in Europe.
“In essence, there is so much gas available that we all need today and it is becoming more and more critical for energy industry globally,” he said.
To harness the gas potentials, he said collaboration had become critical with all stakeholders.

Meanwhile, the conference was expected to dissect the energy transition phenomenon, unlock the real value of a decarbonised future, showcase ground-breaking technologies and explore actionable strategies and solutions to the challenges and opportunities created by complex global energy market dynamics.
It also serves as the leading venue for the energy industry to debate, deliberate and address key issues on the trilemma of security of supply, affordability, and sustainability.

The ADIPEC conference equally provides a platform for policy makers, energy chief executive officers and industry professionals to address the critical factors influencing the energy ecosystem’s transformation and its role as a key enabler of the global economy.