FG Restates Commitment to Achieving Net-Zero Gas Emission

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva has restated government’s commitment to achieving its net-zero emission targets by 2060.

The minister stated this in his remarks at the 7th National Council of Hydrocarbons meeting which held in Minna, Niger State, according to a statement from the ministry signed by its Director of Information, Enefaa Bob-Manuel.

Sylva, whose address was delivered by the Permanent Secretary, at the ministry, Gabriel Aduda, informed that in demonstration of its commitment, Nigeria had commenced the “mitigation and adaptation” of proactive measures towards achieving its net-zero emission targets by 2060.

He noted that the event came at a time when global efforts were geared towards achieving lesser emissions.

The minister noted that the recently concluded UN Climate Conference (COP27) held in Egypt, offered another opportunity for Nigeria to identify opportunities for cooperation and collaboration with other countries and international organisations.

According to him, this collaboration would help accelerate mitigation and adaptation of proactive measures towards achieving the targets.

 “Oil and gas are a major development resource for Africa and will be for a long time to come. We are however putting measures in place to ensure cleaner processes and processing to mitigate the impact of methane and greenhouse gasses,” the minister added.

Sylva noted that one of the gains recorded in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector with the signing of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 was the creation of a regulatory frameworks with clear and non-overlapping mandates for the growth and development of the oil and gas sector.

In his address, the governor of Niger State,  Sani Bello, expressed confidence that achieving the energy transition plan in Nigeria was attainable if Nigeria is able to strategically outline the right policy directions and draw up implementable frameworks for the supervisory agencies.

 Bello, who was represented by the Secretary to the Niger State Government,  Ahmed Mutane, informed that there were proven presence of commercially viable hydrocarbon in the Bida Basin of the State.