As the world move towards the transition to cleaner energy sources, the Federal Government (FG) on Tuesday, said there was a need for innovative approaches to attract investments in the oil and gas sector.
It said this became imperative as the clamour for clean energy has altered the world’s energy landscape and caused huge investment de-prioritisation towards fossil fuels as the dominant fuel of choice.
Speaking at the Maiden PENGASSAN annual conference: Energy and Labour Summit, in Abuja, Engr Gbenga Komolafe, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in his keynote address, said access to capital pools will be affected by the energy transition drive.
According to him, there was a need for the nation to weigh its options and strengthen the resilience and sustainability of its resource base in order to build robust positions in the new energy businesses of the future.
His words: “Having identified rapid population growth and the need for industrialisation as the enablers that will drive demand for energy across Nigeria and Africa, it is important to share our perspective on another enabler that will be affected by the energy transition – which is access to capital pools.
“Innovative approaches will have to be developed to attract investment to the oil and gas industry during this time of energy transition.”
In his address, he suggested that Nigeria could further strengthen the resilience of its resources by considering initiatives to decarbonize existing oil and gas operations, thus continuing to encourage investment in lower-carbon energy infrastructure such as gas pipelines as this could reduce the risk of stranded gas resources.
“it is expected that gas reserves would be a more resilient energy source under a range of energy transition scenarios,” he stressed.
He noted that although “energy transition is valid”, this may threaten job security and stifle investment in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
“However, I align fully with the policy of the government which is hinged on ensuring that we utilize our huge Gas resources as a transition fuel towards cleaner energy sources.
“For the government, we must utilise our hydrocarbon resource for industrialisation and economic growth,” he added.
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Energy transition: Innovative approaches required to attract investments in oil, gas sector ― FG
Energy transition: Innovative approaches required to attract investments in oil, gas sector ― FG
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