The solution to Africa’s current energy Poverty is the use of gas, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has advocated.
The company stated this in an insight video shared on its Twitter (X) handle on Wednesday evening, September 6.
According to the company, the Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer at NNPCL, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan was on a Global Business Leadership Panel at the Gastech Conference in Singapore, where she discussed the critical need for unique solutions to end energy poverty in Africa. She advocated for using gas as a strategic asset to eradicate energy poverty across Africa.
She said: “The reality of the climate issue is that it is a global one, not a regional one. In Africa, the solutions are different from what we will have elsewhere, stemming from the level of energy poverty that inundated sub-Saharan Africa.
“We need to look at how we can bring the entire continent out of energy poverty, for us to tackle energy poverty we are defaulting to our area of competitive advantage which is gas. We are looking at a regional solution to tackling energy poverty and bringing the entire continent out of it.”
The Nigerian gas context
The Federal Government has undertaken the ambitious Decade of Gas initiative, spearheaded by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with a sharp focus on harnessing natural gas for various crucial purposes such as industrialization, clean cooking, automotive, and power generation.
In a groundbreaking move, President Tinubu has taken the unprecedented step of bifurcating the Ministries of Petroleum and Gas, designating Ekperikpe Ekpo as the Minister of State for Gas.
Furthermore, the Tinubu-led Federal Government through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has forged a significant partnership with Nipco Gas Limited to embark on the development of compressed natural gas infrastructure nationwide.
This strategic collaboration aims to facilitate the widespread adoption of natural gas for automobiles following necessary conversion processes.
The objective here is to alleviate the economic strain resulting from the removal of fuel subsidies, a bold decision implemented by President Tinubu as far back as May 2023.
This initiative is poised to provide a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative for motorists, thereby enhancing the nation’s energy sustainability.
What you should know
During the Gastech Conference in Singapore, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo told attendees, that the country has the capacity to grow its gas production to over 5 billion cubic feet per day by 2030.
