By Teddy Nwanunobi
Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, has declared that, “Oil will continue to be a crucial component of the world’s future energy”, adding that it is likely going to account for about 44 per cent of World Energy Supply (WES) by 2050.
Kyari, who spoke at the 56th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society Conference on Tuesday, said that, “Global energy consumption is expected to grow from 2018 levels by about 50 per cent by 2050.”
In his remarks entitled ‘Expanding the frontiers of exploration: Creating new opportunities for growth’, Kyari noted that global oil industry has continued to experience great shifts owing to advancement of technology, economics and social dynamics.
“From the discovery of fire to industrial revolution, human quest for energy resources to support survival, prosperity and lifestyle has continued to grow. In recent times, tech advancement has encouraged the oil industry to venture into uncommon frontiers, search for hydrocarbons, build global reserves and guarantee needed energy security to support human quest for sustained prosperity in the 21st century.
“In Nigeria, we’ve seen great waves of transition to deep offshore exploration over the last twenty-five (25) years, with IOCs dominating the frontiers due to access to technology, unrivalled expertise and finance. The transition to deep offshore has also come as a necessity as IOC’s seek to minimise operational risks associated with insecurity and community issues around onshore blocs,” he said.
Speaking on the Corporation’s inland rift basin exploration, the GMD said that the recent discovery of commercial quantities of hydrocarbon in Kolmani area of the Middle Benue Trough means that NNPC would make more progress.
“In NNPC, we’ve continued to make giant strides in inland rift basin exploration. Our sustained quest is informed by the matured G&G evaluations and the practical discoveries of commercial quantities of hydrocarbons in neighbouring Niger, Chad and CAR.
“Building from our decades of seismic data acquisition, evaluation and consolidation in the rift basins, especially the Chad-Gongola Basins and the Benue Trough, a re-entry was considered in 2009, but later suspended in 2014 due (to) insecurity in the N/East.
“With President Muhammadu Buhari’s renewed commitment to grow National Oil Reserve to 40 billion barrels, NNPC was in 2016 mandated to conduct more rigorous exploration in Nigeria’s inland basins, using improved technology adopted in countries that successfully discovered hydrocarbons in the Rift Basin.
“NNPC has, over the last four years, expanded inland basins exploration activities covering Gongola, Benue, Bida and Sokoto basins, while data review is being undertaken in preparation for exploration activities in Anambra platform and the Dahomey Basins. We are seeing more hope as we make more progress, especially with the recent discovery of commercial quantities of hydrocarbon in Kolmani area of the Middle Benue Trough,” he said.
He, therefore, called on Nigeria and other oil rich nations to produce proven oil and gas reserves resource to support growth, economic diversification and job creation to millions of young people.
He, however, pointed out that it is important to be cost-sensitive, as COVID-19 pandemic has subdued any survival strategy that is not cost-sensitive.
“As transition to cleaner energy garners momentum, it is also expedient for oil rich nations like Nigeria to produce proven oil and gas reserves resource to support growth, economic diversification and job creation to millions of young people.
“Global energy consumption is expected to grow from 2018 levels by about 50 per cent by 2050. This means that oil will continue to be a crucial component of the world’s future energy, and is likely to account for about 44 per cent of World Energy Supply by 2050, compared to 53 per cent today.
“While we expand exploration to enable reserve growth, and ultimately produce more oil/gas to support growth, it is import to be cost-sensitive as COVID-19 pandemic has subdued any survival strategy that is not cost-sensitive. Efficiency has, therefore, become the new necessity.
“We are working with our partners in the Nigerian oil and gas industry space to pull down production cost to $10 per barrel, and that cannot be achieved without the total support of geoscientists and other professionals.
“Under the informed leadership of H.E President Muhammadu Buhari, the FG is committed to National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP). This is designed to deepen domestic penetration of natural gas to support power sufficiency, industrialisation and job creation.
“To achieve this vision, NNPC is expanding the nation’s gas pipeline infrastructure with the completion of the second Escravos-Lagos Pipeline (ELP-II), the Obiafu-Obriko-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline, and the ongoing extension of the Ajaokuta gas pipeline to Abuja, Kaduna and Kano,” he added.