Maritime Stakeholders Canvass Increased Use of Gas in Nigeria

Gilbert Ekugbe

Stakeholders in the nation’s maritime industry have emphasised on the need for Nigeria to maximize the use of its huge gas resources to drive the federal government’s marine and blue economy mandate.

The Chair, Zoe Maritime Resources Limited, Oritsematosan Edodo-Emore, at the Maritime Business Roundtable Breakfast Meeting tagged, “Maximising the Utilisation of Gas in Nigeria’s Blue Economy,” said Nigeria is one the prominent gas countries in the world, but lamented that a lot of its gas has been wasted in the flaring of gas as a byproduct for oil exploration and exploitation.

“Although there has been some significant investment in exportation of gas, more needs to be done. As the world moves away from fossil fuel and concentrate on alternate and renewable sources of energy, it is imperative that Nigeria is not left behind,” she urged.

She noted that the recent establishment of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy gives Nigeria the impetus to critically focus on the maritime industry and harness every advantage and resources the nation’s blue economy provides.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer, Dateline Energy, Mr. Wilson Opuwei, said the private sector must start the process of extracting, processing, developing and transporting gas to remote places while also urging the government to make available incentives to support the private sector in its quest to gas to gas users and boosting investment in the gas Industry.

“I feel we can do a lot more and it will require investment and conscious efforts in this space,” he said.

On his part, Admiral Superintendent, Naval Dockyard Limited, Rear Admiral Abolaji Orederu, said to boost gas production in the maritime industry would require huge investments. 

He, however, bemoaned the lack of technical capacity of trained engineers in the country, stressing the need for the federal government to prioritise investment in getting international certification for the nation’s engineers.

The President, Total Support Energies Group, Dr. Ubani Nkaginieme, said the maritime industry is actually responsible for 90 per cent of the volume of global pollution, pointing out the need to come up with workable solutions that will lead to reduction and eradication of Co2 emissions.