Gbenga Komolafe, the Chief Executive, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), says Nigeria is adopting a phase-down approach to transiting to cleaner sources of energy.
Komolafe spoke at the Africa Economic Summit on Wednesday in Lagos. Represented by Mr Bashir Indabawa, Head, National Data Repository, NUPRC, the NUPRC boss said that Nigeria was committed to achieving a low carbon footprint.
According to him, the global energy transition is a reality, adding it is affecting investments in fossil fuel industries.
“Nigeria is fully committed to the COP 26 agreement, having pledged to achieve net-zero targets by the year 2060.
“However, the implementation process would have to align with our strategic national interest toward energy security and sustainability.
“In keeping with this commitment, we will be adopting the ‘phase-down’ as against the ‘phase-out’ approach in exploitation and utilisation of our endowed energy resources”, he said.
Komolafe stated that the government had adopted gas as its transition fuel and was working toward gas reserves growth, optimising gas production, increasing domestic gas utilisation as well as gas flare elimination.
Technical Adviser, Gas Business and Policy Implementation to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Justice Derefaka, said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) was critical to gas development.
He said that the PIA had generous fiscal provisions aimed at attracting investment in gas exploitation and utilisation.
Other policies aimed at deepening gas utilisation in Nigeria, according to him, include the Decade of Gas initiative, the National Gas Expansion Programme and the National Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme.
On his part, Mr. Sharfuddeen Mahmoud, General Manager, Market, Competition and Rates Division, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), said there was chronic energy poverty in Nigeria.
He said the problem was being addressed through the gas to power initiative of the Federal Government with agreements being put in place to ensure stable supply of gas to electricity generation companies.
He added that NERC was also giving support to renewables which was being piloted by the Rural Electrification Agency to provide off-grid electricity for Nigerians.
Also speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of Axxella Group, Mr Bolaji Osunsanya, said creation of gas-based industrial clusters across Africa would boost the continent’s economy.
Represented by Mr Fisayo Duduyemi, the Chief Strategy Officer, Axxella Group, Osunsanya said that the company had been making massive investments to bring gas closer to industries in Nigeria.