The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) has charged stakeholders in the oil and gas industry on the need to be more efficient in their energy use, while also taking cognisance of cost reduction in their operations.
The Chairman, SPE, Nigeria Council, Mr. Olatunji Akinwunmi, said the charge is apt especially at a time when the world is transiting into cleaner fuels, urging the Nigerian oil and gas industry to keep pace with global energy transition initiatives.
Akinwunmi stated this while addressing newsmen on the sidelines of SPE Nigeria Annual International Conference & Exhibition (NAICE 2021) in Lagos.
He advised that with the same level of production, operators must seek ways to reduce the level of carbon intensity in their operations.
Meanwhile, he called on the federal government to formulate a master policy to boost the nation’s gas reserves and production, in the country’s quest to key into the global energy transition.
“We know that the transition into cleaner fuel is real and we also know that gas reserves are over 200 trillion cubic feet with a potential to grow the reserves three times higher than the amount to 600 trillion cubic feet.
So, there has to be a formulation of a master policy to evacuate this gas so that we will take advantage of the transition, as the window of the transition, will not last forever,” he said.
On outcome from the conference, he said: “The key takeaway for us is that we have started a discussion on energy transition, the role of oil and gas in the future of energy, the challenges of climate change and public health as well as development of oil and gas subsequent to the passing of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).”
Reacting to some of the International Oil Companies (IOCs) divesting some of their assets, he stated that Nigeria has a vibrant local industry capacity to take advantage of the opportunities created by the divestment even as the Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, reassured operators of the federal government’s commitment to ensuring that the interest of local investors is protected.
He added: “IOCs have announced their intention to divest some of their assets and not all of their assets upstream, but we believe that we have a vibrant local industry and the federal government’s commitment to playing an important role in ensuring that the divestment is properly carried out and the people they are divesting into have both technical and financial to go through the divestment process.”
“This is a very strong statement that will guarantee the quality of the eventual off takers of the divested assets,” he added.
On the passage of the PIB, the SPE boss stated that the bill is the most useful document that would set Nigeria on the right path of gas transitioning through exploration, development and exploitation of the nation’s immense gas resources.
“We know that there are some issues surrounding the details of the bill, but hopefully, we know it would be finalised and we will have Mr. President signing this bill into law soon. We believe that in its form, the proposal of government structure and fiscal regime, it is a useful tool that the industry can leverage to really bring some impetus into the oil and gas sector. The PIB will serve as an important tool for the development of our oil and gas resources,” he said.
