Analysts say ineffective energy planning and implementation, lack of access to finance and poor infrastructure could make it difficult for Nigeria to achieve its net-zero pledge at the Conference of Parties (COP26) in Scotland last year.
At COP 26, Nigeria said it would use gas as transition fuel but has struggled to develop infrastructure that will enable it tap natural gas for both domestic use and for exports.
“Nigeria is counting on her abundant gas reserves as transition fuel and needs to quickly develop the resource,” said Oyinkepreye Orodu, Head Of Department, Petroleum engineering, Covenant University.
Nigeria has ambition to meet net-zero by 2060 but it relies largely on diesel and to power its industries.
Emmanuel Afimia, Managing Consultant/CEO, Enermics Consulting Limited said weak policies and regulations will also pose a challenge.
75 percent of power used in the country is from gas which emits CO2 but a creaking national grid leads many to rely on generators which increases the country’s greenhouse emissions.
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Oil production accounts for over 60 percent of emissions and unlike other countries who are advancing methods to make drilling for oil cleaner, Nigeria is still battling to contain oil thieves who sabotage pipelines and worsen pollution in the NIger Delta.
Africa’s biggest oil producer also lacks a clear policy direction on “carbon capture utilization storage” (CCUS) to achieve a low-carbon economy, in terms of implementation. The CCUS is achievable through the storage of CO2 in saline aquifers and depleted oil and gas fields said Orodu.
Early this year, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank said they would partner with Nigeria on developing a CCUS domestic market.
“The government has to make this work through a carbon tax, in-country expertise on CCUS is required, and the professionals in the upstream industry possess the right skills for this,” said Orodu.
Orodu urged the government to come to terms with the reality of energy transition and shift towards a low carbon future and should be working to develop both the right policy and the right technical skills.
