The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd has assured investors that the country will end gas flaring by 2030 through conversion for automobiles and power generation.
Kyari also called for more collaboration and transparency among parties in the global energy industry amid heightened demand to achieve net-zero.
Kyari made the call on Tuesday while speaking at a Strategic Panel Session titled “Decarbonising Operations across Upstream, Midstream and Downstream” at the on-going Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC 2024) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Represented by NNPC Ltd’s Executive Director of Upstream, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, the GCEO stated that Africa is currently grappling with the dual challenges of decarbonisation and energy poverty.
To address these, Nigeria has implemented two significant policy shifts to support its decarbonization efforts.
Recall that Africa adopted 2060 as the feasible time for achieving its net-zero target.
The GCEO said, “One is declaring the decade of gas as transition fuel from a predominantly diesel and fuel economy to a gas-driven economy, while the second is the removal of fuel subsidy. NNPC Ltd has relied on these two policies to drive the nation’s decarbonization agenda.”
He said Nigeria is a signatory to the Oil & Gas Decarbonisation Charter (OGDC) and affirmed the country is focused on achieving gas flare-out by 2030 through the utilisation of gas for automotive and power generation.
The NNPC boss noted that Nigeria has substantial gas reserves, amounting to 209 trillion cubic feet (tcf). However, he said accessing capital to fund gas projects has been challenging, as the primary source for raising such funds is the balance sheets of International Oil Companies (IOCs), which are predominantly focused on gas exports.
“It is important to know that if we must solve this existential problem, then there should be a provision for the global south (less energy-endowed countries) to access capital to enable them to address their problems.
“It is in understanding the differences that exist among us, even though we are trying to solve the same problem,” he added.