PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari said in Abuja yesterday that Nigeria will continue to study solutions for dealing with the energy transition and that there is no reason to panic.
The president stated at the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) that the government is already putting in place measures to ensure a smooth energy transition as it joins the race towards net zero carbon emissions.
Buhari, who was represented at the ceremony by Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum, noted that his administration has designated natural gas as Nigeria’s transition fuel, and that the country is poised to meet the challenge of rising global demand for cleaner energy sources.
Speaking to global leaders in the energy sector at the event, he said: “I urge this summit to develop smart home-grown goals for the country’s energy transition. We are waiting to deliberate on the strategy paper from this summit and incorporate critical parts of it into government’s policies where necessary.”
Sylva, who lamented the continent’s energy poverty, pointed out that the energy-poverty and climate change nexus must be tackled simultaneously when embracing global future fuels.
According to him, the transformation must not come at the expense of inexpensive and reliable energy for people, cities, and industry in nations like Nigeria, which are rich in natural resources but nevertheless energy poor.
Sylva said: “On the contrary, it must be inclusive, equitable, and just—which means preserving the right to sustainable development and poverty eradication as enshrined in global treaties such as the Paris accord. It is evident that what makes the most sense from the point of view of “balancing energy security with environmental sustainability is the use of gas as a transition fuel.”
He stated that the country is working to make natural gas a dominant primary energy source in the medium to long term, and that liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is expected to play a role because it is utilized as a precursor for zero-emission green hydrogen.
Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), said the PIA has established clear legacies that will ensure the long-term development of the critical sector in ensuring Nigeria’s energy security and socio-economic revitalization through the use of the country’s abundant hydrocarbon resources.
While geopolitical threats and the energy transition continue to destabilize oil prices, Ahmed stated that the country must increase long-term investment in the fossil fuel sector, given the continued importance of oil and gas in the global energy balance.
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