Kyari: NNPC Will Sustain Aggressive Gas Devt Projects to Achieve Affordable, Cleaner Energy for Nigerians

•Insists Nigeria not transitioning away from fossil fuel 

•Seplat CEO projects $3.5tn net investment to meet Africa’s energy transition by 2050

Peter Uzoho in Lagos and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, has vowed that the company would sustain ongoing aggressive gas development and gas transportation projects in order to deliver affordable and cleaner energy to the teeming Nigerian population still grappling with acute energy poverty.

Kyari stated this in Lagos, yesterday, while delivering a keynote address at the ongoing Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) with the theme, “Balancing Energy Accessibility, Affordability, and Sustainability: Strategic Options for Africa.”

 The GCEO, however, insisted that Nigeria was not transitioning away from hydrocarbon despite the current pressures by the advocates of energy transition, adding that Nigeria would instead use its abundance hydrocarbon resources to drive its transition.

Kyari, spoke just as the Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy, Mr. Roger Brown, predicted at the conference that Africa would need about $3.5 trillion net investment to achieve energy transition and net zero target by 2050.

Represented at the session by the Executive Vice President, Upstream, NNPCL, Mr. Adokiye Tombomieye, Kyari, said that ongoing gas development and gas transportation projects in the country would increase energy accessibility, affordability and sustainability for Nigerians.

He explained that Nigeria has about 209.5 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas reserves with a potential upside of up to 600tcf, noting that this was an enormous resource that would drive the country’s cleaner and affordable energy vision.

He maintained that while there were alternative energy sources such as solar and wind, they were faced with technology limitations, still not affordable and cannot meet the high energy demands of industries, cities and remote environments unlike gas.

Kyari added that African countries still grapple with strategies of balancing energy availability with meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) No 7, which deals with affordable and clean energy, as well as SDG No 13 that borders on climate actions.

He said, “Energy accessibility means ensuring all citizens can access reliable, modern energy, irrespective of their location or socio-economic status.

“Energy affordability entails ensuring energy and its infrastructure are priced so they can be obtained without financial strain by Africans, while energy sustainability implies that our energy use does not harm the local environment or exhaust resources, affecting future generations.

“This is indeed a trilemma situation and the delicate balance between political will, technological innovation, effective market mechanisms, well-crafted policy interventions, and capacity building.

“It also demands a multi-stakeholder approach, one that involves government, the private sector, civil society, host community and the public at large.”

In the past few years, Kyari pointed out that the Nigerian energy industry has witnessed strategic transformation which has given birth to a viable industry legislation -the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and a long-term gas-centered energy transition plan.

On the policy front, he said they have also seen the emergence of the incorporation of the national oil company from NNPC to NNPC Limited.

Kyari said the PIA 2021 also provides for the NNPC to engage in the renewable energy business, while the Nigerian Climate Act provided for the mainstreaming of climate change actions to achieve low emissions, inclusive green growth, and sustainable economic development.

He insisted that Nigeria was not transitioning away from hydrocarbon despite the current pressures by the advocates of energy transition, adding that Nigeria would instead use its abundance hydrocarbon resources to drive its transition agenda.

“Nigeria is not transitioning away from the hydrocarbons; however, we hope to see an increase in the footprint of alternative cleaner energy sources in the foreseeable future amid fossil fuel dominance. We use what we have to get to our desired destination.

“This is the reason that NNPC Limited has identified gas as a transition fuel and we are expanding our gas development and gas infrastructure across the country to increase energy accessibility.

“NNPC Limited plans to sustain and increase our aggressive gas development and gas transportation projects to achieve affordable and clean energy which is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), Goal No. 7, as our strategic energy plan towards finding a balance for the energy trilemma,” he added.

The GCEO urged all industry stakeholders and SPE Nigeria Council to ensure the provision of affordable, clean, and efficient energy options to all stakeholders, comprising over 200 million Nigerians, under a just and equitable transition.

This, Kyari noted, includes not only their efforts in harnessing the existing energy resources but also in innovative research, development, and adoption of new and emerging technologies in the energy sector.

“Our collective success will be defined by how we deliver affordable wide range of energy sources sustainably. All of these cannot be achieved if we do not have security of our operations.

“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,” he added.

Also, Brown, who spoke on financing the energy transition in Nigeria and Africa, predicted that Africa would need about $3.5 trillion net annual investment to achieve energy transition and net zero target by 2050.

Brown said the urgent need to decarbonise energy would reduce demand for fossil fuel as countries strive for net zero to meet essential climate targets.

According to him, “Africa needs a just and affordable energy transition,” noting that it will, “impact on food production, economic development, sanitation and health.”

He said, “African development has been hampered because 600 million Africans lack access to electricity.”

Brown, therefore called for improved governance and attractiveness of African energy providers to ensure lowest cost of capital, adding that, “Africa must have the right to use its own resources to develop and decide how best to provide energy from growing population.”

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mr. Farouk Ahmed, said Africa has abundant natural gas reserves and was becoming the dominant energy source.

Represented by the Executive Director, Health, Safety, Environment and Community,  NMDPRA, Dr. Mustapha Lamode, Ahmed said Nigeria’s proven gas reserves is also currently estimated to be about 206TCF.

He said the reserve has the potential to unlock economic development and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the country.

“Recent gas discoveries in Senegal and Mauritania show that West Africa is primed to be a gas region.

“Natural gas has been globally recognised as our transition fuel as it clearly offers a strategic competitive advantage to powering our continent sustainably through the creation of energy access for all in the short-to-medium term.

“The federal government has declared year 2020 as the year of gas and the years 2021 to 2030 as the decade of gas.

“These pronouncements heralded the implementation of several midstream gas investment initiatives such as the Nigerian Gas Expansion Programme and The Nigerian Gas Transportation Network Code,” he said.

Ahmed, added that the PIA 2021 enunciated the importance of the midstream sector of the oil and gas industry as a critical tool and strategic driver for actualising the nation’s energy sustainability through gas development and utilisation, creation of jobs and diversification of the economy.

He said the NMDPRA was galvanising the sector by addressing the trilemma of energy accessibility, affordability and sustainability by unlocking the full potential of natural gas which is the cleanest fossil fuel so far.

He noted that this has multiplier effects on all sectors of the economy, from agriculture, manufacturing, power and petrochemicals.

“For us as regulators, this discussion on the theme of the conference could not have come at a better time than this. We would expect contributions, criticism of existing strategies and new solutions to energy balancing, sustainability and affordability.

“So, let us continue to collaborate in order to create a sustainable energy future for our industry,” Ahmed said.

Earlier in his welcome address, the SPE Nigeria Chairman, Mr. Felix Obike, said the aim of the annual conference was to “Connect a global community of engineers, scientists, and related energy professionals to exchange knowledge, innovate and advance their technical and professional competence regarding the exploration, development and production of oil and gas and related resources to achieve a safe, secure and sustainable energy future.”