By Oke Peter
The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, has said that gas is the future of energy development in Nigeria.
Kyari who was speaking at the maiden Seplat Energy Summit 2020 held in Lagos, said Africa, especially Nigeria has huge gas resources which can be harnessed and leveraged for other opportunities.
The summit with the theme “Business Sustainability and Strategic Leadership in Africa” was organised to draw attention to the huge opportunities that gas offers.
According Kyari, “We must not lose sight of the fact that the world is transiting to renewable energy and gas is the future.
The summit had in attendance government officials, apex and self-regulatory organisations, capital market operators, players in oil and gas, investment bankers, policymakers, chief executive officers (CEOs), economists, researchers, analysts, academics, and private equity firms.
President of Nigerian Gas Association, Audrey Joe-Ezigbo in her contribution said, “We need to leverage on Africa’s over 527 trillion cubic feet proven natural gas reserves and use that side by side complementary to building up our renewables profile which Nigeria should be championing.”
Chairman of Seplat, Ambrosie Orjiako said the company will continue to be a trailblazer as the business environment changes, saying that “Seplat’s growing gas business will become a very audacious first step towards making sure that our operations are aligned with the climate change narrative.”
The incoming CEO of Seplat, Roger Brown, said Africa as a continent need to build that base load for which it can build from and drive its gas agenda which Nigeria can lead through renewable energy.
Concerning expectation from government which will allow Nigeria play a leading role, Brown said the government should support oil firms through partnerships in Joint Venture agreement, more support in competing transactions and approvals as well as clearer legislations.
