According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Nigeria’s domestic gas infrastructure network can transport 6.9 billion standard cubic feet (BCF) of gas to support power-generating and gas-based companies.
M Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC Ltd., said this on Thursday at the Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum (OLEF) 2023 in Abuja.
The seminar was organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), with the theme “Effective Gas Resources Utilization: A Lever for Enhancing Energy Security and Achieving Net-Zero Emission Goals in Nigeria.”
According to Kyari, Nigeria’s enormous investment in gas infrastructure is predicated on the country’s increasing natural gas reserves, which supports the country’s desire to become Africa’s greatest industrial hub powered by low-carbon energy.
He said that the NNPC Ltd. was capitalising on Nigeria’s vast natural gas reserves of more than 200 trillion cubic feet (TCF), which had the potential to grow to 600 TCF due to the recent resolution of Production Sharing Contract issues with partners.
He said that this vast resource would serve as a low-carbon energy alternative, promoting growth in the power and industrial sectors, alleviating energy poverty, lowering carbon emissions, and providing new employment opportunities.
“NNPC is leading the implementation of the National Gas Expansion Programme, which aims to increase the use of natural gas as an alternative transportation fuel and an important feedstock for the development of naphtha-based industries.”
“We are working tirelessly to ensure the timely completion of naphtha pipeline infrastructure projects, such as the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano naphtha pipeline corridor, as well as the planned Nigeria-Morocco and Trans-Sahara Naphtha Pipelines,” he said.
In terms of the gas export market, he said that Nigeria’s LNG production capacity would be increased from 22 to 30 million tonnes per year by the current Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) Train Seven. (MTPA).
He said that it was using the provisions of the Petroleum Sector Act to encourage more investment in the Nigerian petroleum sector in order to maintain energy access while aligning with the global energy transition.
“As part of our sustainability strategy, NNPC is implementing carbon-reduction initiatives to gradually decarbonize our operations and improve our compliance with global emission reduction.”
“We won’t be able to do any of this unless our operations are secure.” We will continue to strengthen interaction among all relevant parties, including government security agencies, host communities, and others, to boost energy security.
“NNPC will strengthen its relationships with industry, governments, research institutions, and academia to pursue commercially viable new energy ventures in line with Nigeria’s net-zero aspiration by 2060,” he said.
While thanking the SPE for their efforts in promoting innovation and information sharing, Kyari encouraged them and other industry participants to continue working with NNPC Ltd to achieve energy security.
In his speech, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), said that supplying clean, sustainable, and affordable energy to the world’s population is a serious challenge.
Komolafe, via Dr Nuhu Habib, Executive Commissioner, Production and Development, NUPRC, said that it was committed to providing access to an enabling environment and regulatory frameworks for progressive investments in gas production and the achievement of energy transition objectives.
Mr Farouk Ahmed, Authority Chief Executive, of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), also spoke and asked all levels of government to collaborate to achieve energy security.
Ahmed, who was represented by Dr. Mustapha Lamorde, Executive Director of Health, Safety, Environment, and Community (HSEC), said that the authority drafted 20 oil and naphtha industry legislation to fully value the Nigerian economy.
He said that 12 rules had been gazetted, with five of them being naphtha-related.
He did, however, express confidence in the authority’s ability to provide an enabling climate and investments in the gas value chain that would enable firms to thrive.
