After Talks With Tinubu, Kyari, US Govt Forms Energy Security Dialogue With Nigeria

In the wake of a push for energy justice in global energy transition, the United States government has formed an Energy Security Dialogue with Nigeria.

While announcing the development by its Department of States, it said that the dialogue would enable the US galvanise resources to help Nigeria in its effort to improve energy access, energy security and decarbonisation.

The decision was made after the Department of State Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) Assistant Secretary Geoffrey R. Pyatt made a three-day visit to Abuja between June 18 to 20.

Pyatt had a bilateral meetings with President Bola Tinubu where the Group Chief Executive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mele was in attendance alongside top Nigerian government officials.

Pyatt joined in a roundtable with energy companies from the American Business Council.

He also participated in a panel with both private and public sector organizations to discuss ways to accelerate the development of Nigeria’s power sector, including through the Clean Energy Demand Initiative (CEDI).

The US Govt said, “Following a visit to Nigeria by Assistant Secretary for Energy Resources Geoffrey R. Pyatt, the Department of State announces the formation of an Energy Security Dialogue with Nigeria to advance collaboration on our shared energy and climate goals.

“This dialogue will bring together the combined resources of the U.S. government to engage with our Nigerian counterparts on issues including energy access, energy security, decarbonization, clean energy supply chains, and methane emissions reduction.

“Home to Africa’s largest democracy, population, and economy, Nigeria will play a key role in the global energy transition. The United States is committed to Nigeria’s success in achieving its energy and climate goals and looks forward to hosting the first Energy Security Dialogue in the coming year.”

As the world move towards achieving a cleaner energy, Nigeria, rich in gas has adopted gas as transition fuel to enable it fund its net zero target by 2060.

Nigeria has the 9th largest gas reserves with around 209.5 trillion cubic feet(tcf) of proven gas reserves.

Although the government has stepped up effort to attract investments in renewables, but it believes that the country is faced with high energy poverty which can be trimmed using proceeds from oil gas deposits.

Over 90 per cent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings comes from oil and gas sales but the country has proven deposits of lithium and cobalt, a prospective source of revenue for the country as the scrabble for renewables increase.

“It is therefore our firm position that fossil fuel will continue to contribute more than 50 per cent to the energy mix in Africa and possibly the rest of the world,” Kyari said while presenting a paper at the 40th annual international conference and exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) in Lagos.

He added, “However, the most important question for this strategic gathering is around competitiveness of the hydrocarbon sources compared to renewal comparatives in terms of cost, energy contents and sustainability.

“Recent happenings in the Russian-Ukraine crises have seen the resurgence for the need for fossil fuels and in some cases adverse use of high-carbon generating energy sources like coal, this also points to the fact that energy transition implementation has to be gradual.”