As world leaders embrace energy transition towards a low carbon future, President Muhammadu Buhari has charged members of the gas exporting countries forum on the need to promote investments and policies as critical tools in providing the necessary infrastructure to exploit the natural resource.
Buhari made this call on Tuesday, at the 6th Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) summit of heads of state and government under the patronage of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Amir of the State of Qatar.
Representing the president, the minister of state for petroleum resources, Timipre Sylva said with natural gas projected to be the leading fossil fuel in the energy transition, the forum was in the best position to provide stewardship and a credible platform to promote natural gas as a sustainable fuel for an effective energy transition.
According to him, “in this regard, technology and innovation, adequate investment, and policies would be critical in providing the necessary infrastructure to exploit the natural gas resources and deploy innovative carbon reduction technologies and mechanisms such as carbon capture & storage towards achieving a realistic greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.
“This will not be achieved without collaboration amongst us and building the capacity of the next generation of energy leaders.
The call followed the recognition of the role of natural gas for effective energy transition towards a low carbon future and as a fuel for socio-economic development by country leaders at the recently concluded conference of parties (COP26), taking into consideration its credentials such as abundant, flexible, cleanest fossil fuel, and its versatility.
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Also recognized by country leaders was the role of governments and the private sector in providing the necessary capital to fund clean energy technologies and projects to support the transition to a low carbon future.
Speaking further, the minister said the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) is designed to enable Nigeria derive more value from natural gas.
He noted that as a gas province with some oil, Nigeria is committed to sustainable growth of natural gas exploitation and utilization, both for domestic use and export via LNG and pipeline gas to sub-regional African countries.
According to him, “the recent enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) is an indication of our commitment to derive more value from natural gas by providing the required governance, regulatory and fiscal framework to support the growth of the industry.
“Nigeria is embarking on different initiatives, projects, and policies to enhance the performance of the oil and gas sector.
“Some of the gas initiatives Nigeria is currently embarking upon include the National Gas Expansion Program (NGEP), designed to provide framework and policy support to extend gas supply and utilization in power generation, gas-based industries.
“The declaration of 2021-2030 as Decade of Gas towards a gas-powered economy, provision of critical gas infrastructure such as the Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kano gas pipeline among others,” he said.
He also noted that the forum presents the opportunity to promote a New Energy Order as an effective approach for efficient energy transition where natural gas and other sustainable fuels such as renewables would be central to the realization of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal Number 7.
He explained that this would be essential to achieving the other sustainable development goals towards attaining sustainability that requires balancing the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
“This new energy order needs to be timely, and the new energy system thereof should provide solutions to global energy-related challenges while creating value for businesses and society.
“We, therefore, need to continue to assess the gas and energy market dynamics both in the short, medium, and long-term timeframe with the aim of taking market opportunities and collectively address the challenges.
