The Energy Republic July Edition 2022

NOG FEATURES
“
Over the last five
decades, OPEC and
Nigeria have sown the
seeds of friendship to
build a highly fruitful
and mutually beneficial
relationship, forging
strong ties that will
last forever.
In underscoring Nigeria’s contribution to
the Organization, he noted that over its 50
years of Membership, the country has
provided OPEC with 23 Heads of
Delegation, six of whom served as
President of the Conference. Nigeria has
also proffered the Organization with four
Secretaries General".
He lauded Nigeria’s contributions to
promoting sustainable stability in the
global oil market and its influential role in
the OPEC and non-OPEC Declaration of
Cooperation (DoC).
“OPEC is deeply indebted to HE
Muhammadu Buhari, President of Nigeria,
for the leading role he has played and
continues to play in support of the
Declaration of Cooperation process. This
historic achievement has ushered in a new
era in global energy cooperation,” Barkindo
stated.
On the gas side, the country has the 9th
largest gas reserves in the world with about
209 trillion cubic feet (tcf) and upside
potential of about 600tcf. In terms of gas
production and utilization, Nigeria
averages about 8.4bscfd. While only 18
percent of the production is consumed in
the domestic market (Power, Industries,
and WAGP), 43 percent is exported as LNG,
32 percent is re-injected for enhanced oil
recovery and other operational uses like
fuel gas while 7 percent of total gas
production is currently being flared.
The Federal Government has said that the
value of Nigeria's proven gas reserves was
over $803.4 trillion, adding that the country
had the most extensive gas resource in
Africa.
Industry experts say that these resources or
reserve numbers mean nothing, except
the country drives investment sustainably
27
and collaboratively through investmentdriven
policies, governance, and legal and
regulatory framework. This has been the
thrust and focal point of the NOG
Conference & Exhibition since its inception.
Also worthy of note is the conference's role
as an advocacy platform for legal reforms in
the oil and gas industry, which birthed the
2021 Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The PIA provides a legal, governance,
regulatory and fiscal framework for the
Nigerian petroleum industry, the
development of host communities, and
related matters. It aims to open up the
Nigeria oil and gas industry to invest and
strengthen industry governance and
regulation to expand, grow and maximize
value capture for Nigeria and its citizens.
Among other incentives that the PIA
provides for investors in gas pricing. It pegs
the domestic base price for gas at $3.2 per
Million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) for
power plants. But the price at which the gasbased
industry, comprising companies that
produce methanol, fertilizer (urea,
ammonia), polypropylene, etc will purchase
natural gas, can be as low as $1.5 per
MMBtu.
In-depth discussions
The NOG Conference & Exhibition, for
years, has been playing a critical role in
Nigeria's energy transformation. It is a
platform where key policymakers, industry
leaders, operators, innovators, and
investors gather to discuss in-depth issues
affecting the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
Speakers at the 2021 edition of the
conference identified measures to be taken
to attract and sustain investments, which
are: mitigating country risk; funding;
Funding The Nigerian
HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, OPEC Secretary General
available opportunities; right legislation;
overhauling infrastructural deficit; security;
and attractive fiscal regimes. They called for
continued collaboration between the
government and the private sector. They
observed that government working by itself
is often slow, but they are an enabler; while
members of the private sector are change
agents with all the ideas. However, they run
out of steam eventually without the
government’s help. The Train 7 project was
identified as proof of a profitable
collaboration.
The Chairman, of Shell Companies in
Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor while speaking on
a panel session at the conference said that
the company is committed to the 2050 netzero
emissions target set by the United
Nations, adding that Shell is aggressively
investing in renewables, alternative sources
of energy, and gas as the transition energy.
“We are committed to the net-zero
emissions by 2050. We are doing that
aggressively in terms of renewables and
alternative sources of energy.
“We are a firm believer in gas as the
transition energy, which explains our
investments in Nigeria LNG.
“We are looking at solar energy, gas and we
are deliberate about reducing our carbon
footprint.”
In his address at the conference, the Vice
President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo noted that
the Federal Government was aware of the
challenges confronting the industry and has
been working to address them.
Represented by the Minister of State for
Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva,
Osinbajo said, “We are not unmindful of the
peculiar challenges confronting the oil and
gas operators in Nigeria from infrastructural
Mix For Sustainable Economic Growth
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