Nigeria To Work With US To Deepen Gas Penetration –Kyari

The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari has said that Nigeria has begun engagements with the United States Department of Energy to strengthen its drive towards gas penetration for both domestic markets as well as exports.

Kyari, speaking at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum on Wednesday, noted that there has been a lot of transitioning in the global oil sector, adding that Nigeria has also shifted focus to deepen investments on gas based infrastructure.

He said, “Energy transition means a lot to us as it is where the world is going. Forecasts have it that 30 years to come, we will still have about 100 million barrels for consumption.

“So oil and gas will still remain relevant in the nearest future but transition is real. Nigeria is a country in transition and not necessarily energy in transition.

“We have significant engagement with the United States department of energy, we see some support in our transition drive to cleaner fuel as well as develop our gas infrastructure.”

He explained that the global move towards cleaner fuel is the move towards gas, adding that the Federal Government is working towards utilising its available resources to create an enabling environment that will spur prosperity for Nigerians.

He said, “Countries are moving forward for cleaner fuel and cleaner fuel we see is gas. As a company, we are spending on developing gas, for the domestic market and also for creation of opportunities for export.

“Many things are happening in the energy sector, for instance we see investment in energy infrastructure particularly for gas in excess of $10m on going now, a number of power projects that are also gas based, $3bn-$5bn also ongoing, significant transition activities are ongoing.

“As a country we are working to fit into the new reality which is more gas and also we are developing our resources so that when the real transition comes in 30-32 years time, we will be in a position to take advantage of it.”

Speaking further, the GMD said that Nigeria is currently witnessing increased domestic gas demand in the industrial and power sectors, leading to increased production and reduced gas flaring.