Mallam Mele Kyari, GCEO of NNPCL
…Oil & Gas sector currently contributes largest percentage to the continent’s energy mix with renewable energy sources.
-Felix Douglas
Delivering his keynote address at the sub-Saharan Africa International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC), Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mallam Mele Kyari, pointed out clearly to delegates and participants that Africa plays a major and critical role in guaranteeing energy availability, affordability and sustainability to boost economic growth.
According to Kyari, geographically, sub-Saharan Africa has an advantage to capitalize on the advancements it has made in the oil and gas industry to meet its energy demands, guarantee supply, reduce import dependency and expand economies and overall build a sustainable future for millions of people beyond its shores.
The global energy landscape is dynamic and changing as the years go by. One aspect of the global dialogue on energy is unquestionable: “energy plays a critical role in society, human growth, and people’s quality of life”. This statement still holds true now and will continue to do so.
“To redefine the energy landscape for a sustainable energy future, we need to focus on several key areas such as energy transition, energy efficiency, energy investment, cost efficiency, gas and renewable energy development. Other key enablers will be policy and regulatory support, regional collaboration and training as well as technology, innovation and research.”
The NNPCL boss added that energy demand is expected to rise globally with Africa’s population as a driving force. Oil & Gas sector currently contributes the largest percentage to the continent’s energy mix with renewable energy sources evolving to improve access to needed energy. “To ensure Nigeria’s energy mix is tilted towards clean and reliable energy sources, Nigeria declared 2021-2030 as Decade of Gas towards a gas-powered economy with natural gas, giving its credentials, as major source of power generation.
NNPC Limited is also investing heavily in critical gas infrastructure such as the Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline and the OB3 gas interconnector to support 5 Bscf/d of domestic gas utilization including 5GW of power generation capacity by developing power plant projects along the AKK pipeline corridor and across the country to complement the existing ones.
Though Oil and gas remains a significant component of energy, the global energy mix and will remain so even in the next 50 years, NNPC Ltd. is working towards increasing production by unlocking more opportunities across the oil and gas value chain, gas infrastructure development, CNG Market penetration, increasing refining capacity and driving sustainability initiatives, Kyari stated.
“To achieve success in the oil and gas business, there is a need to balance energy transition, market realities and energy security to be driven largely by availability of indigenous resources, strengthening local content, indigenous capacity development, regional cooperation and collaboration.”
Concerning the gas export market, Kyari stated further that the on-going NLNG Train 7 will expand Nigeria’s LNG production capacity to about 30 million tons per annum (30 MTPA). This is in addition to the planned Nigerian Morocco and the Trans Sahara Gas Pipeline projects which will supply gas to sub-regional African countries and subsequently Europe.
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