According to Mele Kyari, CEO of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the country’s natural gas reserves will triple, reaching 600 trillion cubic feet, from their current level of about 200 trillion cubic feet. This was stated by Kyari at the Wednesday launch of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan in Abuja. He added that the plan aims to have Nigeria reach its net zero targets by 2060 by investing in low carbon emission opportunities including natural gas, and to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in a decade. The NNPC is optimistic because more investments are anticipated as a result of the recent signing of production-sharing contracts with partners and the empowerment of NNPC under the Petroleum Industry Act to assume full responsibility for commercial operations.
Kyari said the plan is coming a month after the unveiling of NNPC Limited with a clear vision and renewed commitment to increasing Nigeria’s significance in the global energy market while guaranteeing Nigeria’s energy security,
“NNPC Limited is a fully commercial enterprise and is well-positioned to serve the African continent in a just and gradual energy transition.
“Nigeria like other African countries is endowed with an increasingly young population which needs a stronger economy to generate the environment for employment and relive citizens from poverty to prosperity, “NNPC recognizes the importance of the activity of the oil and gas sector, as a significant contributor to carbon emissions and its consequent impact on climate. We have taken steps to decarbonize our operations by primarily extinguishing gas flaring from our operations, pursuing carbon capture initiatives, and technological adaptations that support low carbon operations while focusing on gas and energy transition.
“This will provide the resources for a low carbon energy alternative that will support growth in the power and industrial sectors, address energy operations, reduce carbon footprint and create more employment opportunities.
“NNPC supports the FG Natural gas expansion plan which seeks to deepen Natural gas, an alternative transportation fuel. We are working to ensure timely development of infrastructure projects including the Abuja -Kaduna – Kano gas pipeline corridor and associated power plants, and also Nigeria-Morocco trans-Saharan gas pipeline,” Kyari said.
According to Kyari, the NNPC Ltd would use relationships with institutions and the government in the future to develop financially viable new energy initiatives in Nigeria. The prospect of tripling the nation’s gas reserves is one that will greatly upscale the country’s economy if it materializes. The statement from NNPC group managing director, Mele Kyari, does not seem to affect the prices of AGO in the market.
Source: Nairametrics, NewsNGR
