The Chairman, Nigerian Society of Engineers, Bwari Branch, Halimat Adediran, has said that Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan African countries account for three-quarters of the global energy deficit.
She stressed the need for engineering professionals in the country to unlock the great potential of Nigeria’s natural gas by deploying technological innovations and other sustainable solutions.
She said this during the 2022 Annual Public Lecture of the NSE Bwari Branch in Abuja.
According to her, Nigeria had about 206 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves valued at $803.4tn, and should not rely only on crude oil.
She said, “It will interest you all to know that Nigeria has more of gas deposits than crude oil. We have the largest on this continent with approximately 206.53TCF of proven gas reserves worth over $803.4tn as of January 1, 2021, and we are in the top 10 globally. The total domestic gas demand requirement in Nigeria stands at 4.482 billion standard cubics per day.
“More so, Nigeria cannot continue to depend solely on crude oil for her foreign exchange earnings after the COVID-19 pandemic clearly showed us the grave limitations of this as witnessed by the great depression our economy suffered due to our total reliance on crude oil as a major driver of our economy.”
She, however, lamented that despite the huge gas reserves, Nigeria and other SSAs accounted for a huge share of the global energy deficit.
“Sub-Saharan Africa, which includes Nigeria, accounts for three-quarters of the global energy deficit. As Nigerian engineers, we have a critical role to play in unlocking the great potential of our natural gas and liberate our citizens from poverty by deploying technological innovations and other sustainable solutions,” Adediran said.
The President of the NSE, Tasiu Gidari-Wudil, in his remarks, said that the country needed to fully explore the opportunities in the oil and gas sector for the good of the nation’s economy.
The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, also spoke at the event, stressing the need for Africa to establish an African energy bank to address its peculiar energy-related crisis.
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, who was represented by the Director of Infrastructure, Azeez Oyeniyi, called for a technology transfer initiative that could help young engineers to deepen their technical proficiency.
