Energy affordability, availability, sustainability required to bridge deficit —Kyari

THE Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, has said there is the need for energy availability, affordability and sustainability to bridge the country’s deficit.

This is even as the company said it is now a competitor to international oil companies (IOCs) and other indigenous sector players.

Kyari, who stated this on Tuesday, the second day of the Nigerian Oil Gas Energy Week in Abuja, said the company is now regulated and fully a business entity.

He noted that with about 70 percent of Nigeria’s population not having access to clean cooking fuel and over 50 percent without access to electricity, there exists a huge market for energy companies in the country.

He said, “What we are talking about is energy availability, affordability and sustainability. Everybody wants this, not just Nigeria, not Africa but every part of the world thinks the same way: that energy must be available, it must be affordable and also it must be supplied in a sustainable manner.

“But where are we in our country today, in terms of availability? Seventy percent of our population does not have access to clean cooking fuel. Over 50 percent don’t have access to electricity. And that is the truth. So, is energy available or is it a problem of affordability or is it that we have an unsustainable framework?”

While also noting that NNPC Limited is still in a position to facilitate business, Kyari revealed that assets in the production sharing contracts are no longer in its balance sheet as it now operates as an agent of the government.

On his part, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ambassador Gabriel Aduda, disclosed that natural gas is no longer the energy transition fuel but rather destination fuel to provide energy access and power the economy.

The Secretary General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mr Haitham Al Ghais, noted that with over 750 million in the world without access to electricity, it is unwise for Western countries to end investment in oil production.

He disclosed that OPEC Oil Market Outlook for 2024 showed that the demand for oil will grow by 23 percent, adding that the organisation will continue to work with its members to promote investment in the industry.

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