Nigeria’s Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, has said that despite the global opposition to the exploitation of hydrocarbons, the country will not jettison her God-given resources.
Speaking at the 2022 Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum (OLEF) themed: ‘Global Energy Transition: Implications on Future Investments in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry,’ organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the minister stressed that although Nigeria is not against cleaner fuels, its approach will be gradual.
Insisting that Nigeria’s goal should be energy sufficient to put an end to the ravaging energy poverty in the country, the minister added that this was required to drive economic growth as well as provide affordable, reliable and sustainable energy resources.
According to him, while there are strong positives from the move toward renewables, it would be unfair to expect that Nigeria as well as other energy-deficient countries should be stampeded into the mix.
The minister warned that the risk of limited international financing could even jeopardise Nigeria’s energy transition and roadmap to attaining net-zero as government and corporate bodies continue to discourage investment in fossil fuels.
The minister stated that adequate financial resources and effective policies designed to encourage investments in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria were required to enable the country to meet the increasing energy demand.
“Nigeria should harness all the available energy resources to assure, not only availability and accessibility but also affordability and sustainability, to meet its energy demand, which will increase by leaps and bounds in coming years, to sustain economic growth in the face of increasing population.
“Oil will also continue to be much needed, especially for the development of our lagging petrochemical industry. This vital and abundant resource can also be made cleaner and environment-friendly using appropriate technology. “That notwithstanding, Nigeria still aims at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2030 through anti-gas flaring regulations and working closely with oil and gas companies,” the minister said.
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