Mr Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), says global investments in energy is moving toward renewable, cleaner, cheaper and efficient energy options.
Kyari, represented by Mr Musa Lawan, Managing Director, Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, spoke on Monday at the Virtual Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) Africa Petroleum Downstream Expo 2020.
He said that African downstream petroleum interests need to evolve and adapt to the changing business environment.
“The African downstream petroleum sector must prepare for the paradigm shift that lies ahead with the inroads renewable energy is making in the global energy mix,” the group managing director said.
Kyari said that the move to deepen gas utilisation across the country was aimed at creating an alternative source of energy for Nigerians, especially with the deregulation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).
Also, Mr Tunji Oyebanji, Chairman, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), said that Nigeria’s proven gas reserves currently stand at 203.16TCF.
Oyebanji said these reserves, with a vast majority, still left untapped, were equivalent to 306 times the country’s annual consumption.
He said: “Nigeria’s vast reserves can feed into developing policies toward sustainable energy options for the downstream sector.
“Energy demands in Nigeria has been on the increase in the past three decades; however, the country still lacks
in providing sufficient energy to run the economy.
“Nigeria – the continent’s largest economy – has only approximately 60 per cent of its population having access to electricity.
“There is evidence that access to energy is crucial to the reduction of poverty, the promotion of a country’s economic growth and a better standard of living for current and future population of Nigeria.”
According to him, finding a sustainable way of meeting the growing needs is a core challenge for Nigeria, which aptly creates an appetite for investment in renewable power generation.
While commending the government for its autogas initiative, he said that MOMAN was ready to key into the scheme because it would affect the economy positively.
Oyebanji said the scheme would create jobs, increase foreign exchange savings and help reduce carbon emissions in the country.