By Moses Patience Chat
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has restated its unwavering support for the growth and development of the energy sector in reaching the country’s security, sustainability and net zero goals.
The Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Company, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, made this known on Monday while giving the keynote speech at the 6th edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES), with the theme “Global Perspectives for a Sustainable Future.”
According to him, “the world today has recognized the need to for ensuring sustainability in the energy landscape, which is in line with the current realities. And as key players in the energy sector, our mandate of providing energy for our county still remains a priority.
“In order to achieve that, NNPC is poised to reliably deliver energy to our stakeholders, though efficient utilization of hydrocarbons and other new energy sources which our country is blessed with.”
The NNPCL Boss stated that sustained energy sufficiency directly enables economic growth and development which is evident in the history of the developed countries adding that the Company is focused on efficiently producing energy while minimizing its effect on the environment.
“Oil and gas remains a significant component of energy the global energy mix therefore we are unlocking more opportunities across both the oil and gas value chain spanning from supply and infrastructure to the markets,” he added.
Kyari further enlightened the public on the various initiatives of NNPCL to support the energy sector.
He restated the company’s active support to the Federal Government towards the realization of key initiatives such as the Decade of Gas and the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP), which seeks to deepen natural gas utilization as an alternative transportation fuel, virtual gas supply to off-pipeline grid gas customers and gas utilization as feedstock for the development of gas-based industries.
He also made mention of NNPC Limited investment in critical gas infrastructure, such as the Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline and the OB3 gas interconnector to support 5 Bscf/d of domestic gas utilization including 5 GW of power generation capacity by developing power plant projects along the AKK pipeline corridor and across the country to complement the existing ones.
For the gas export market, he made reference to the on-going NLNG Train 7 which is aimed at expanding Nigeria’s LNG production capacity to about 30 million tons per annum (30 MTPA). This, he said, is in addition to the planned Nigerian Morocco and the Trans Sahara Gas Pipeline projects which will supply gas to sub-regional African countries and subsequently Europe.
“In addition to our existing Upstream activities, we are also deepening exploration activities of the Nation’s frontier Basins using the best industry standards and technologies which is already yielding results such as the Kolmani discovery, and we are hopeful that the recent spud-in of the EBENYI – A in Nasarawa State will yield positive result as well.
“The 6th edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit has provided us all with a platform to tell our story and engage further based on our unique landscape and strengths which will eventually contribute to form part of the global narrative.
“NNPC will continue to leverage our partnerships with the Industry, Government, Research Institutions and the Academia to ensure energy security and sustainability.”