From left: Mr. Godwin Okoduwa, Falcon Corporation; Revd Sola Adebawo, General Manager, Government, Joint Venture & External Relations, Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited (HEOSL), representing the CEO, Ade Oseragbake; Adesomo Anita Edo-Osagie, Deputy General Manager, Corporate Business & Relations First Exploration and Petroleum Development Company; Olu Philips, Chairman NAEC; Akachukwu Nwokedi, President, Nigerian Gas Association and Austin Avuru, Executive Chairman, AA Holdings at the 2023 Annual Strategic International conference of the Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC).
By Emeka Ugwuanyi
The Nigerian Government in the past 10 years has been aspiring to achieve daily production of four million barrels of oil per day (mbopd) and at least three billion standard cubic feet per day (bscf/d) of gas for domestic usage.
This aspiration has remained a mirage over the years, and currently production has declined from over 2.2 million bopd in 2015 to less than 1.5 million bopd owing to insecurity, pipeline vandalism and massive oil theft. At a point, daily production fell below one million bopd
However, one of Nigeria’s renowned oil and gas expert and player, who currently is the Executive Chairman of AA Holdings, Mr. Austin Avuru, assured that Nigeria can still achieve those output aspirations. To achieve such daily production of oil and gas, Nigeria should require an annual investment of $25 billion in the next 10 years.
Avuru who made this disclosure a panel session at the just concluded Annual International Strategic Conference of Association of Energy Correspondents of Nigeria (NAEC) held in Lagos, said: “Nigeria will need about $25 billion of annual investment in the next 10 years if it is committed to achieving crude oil output of four million barrels per day and three billion standard cubic cubic feet per day of gas for domestic consumption.
Speaking on the conference theme: “Nigeria’s Energy Transition: Enhancing Investment Opportunities & Addressing Challenges in the Energy Sector,” Avuru said Nigeria should focus more on energy security and optimizing the value of its oil and gas resources before committing to its energy transition agenda.
He explained that the energy transition agenda is a lot more serious than an issue that has to do with carbon emissions in the country.
He said: “Carbon emissions reduction has been the key factor that all the energy transition argument has been hinged on.
“Most countries have focused on addressing energy security and optimizing the available resources while driving the transition. Every country will address these two things before coming to what some people think is the residual matter of reduction of carbon emission.
He emphasized that Nigeria should prioritize energy security for both now and in the future and optimize the value of the numerous energy resources that it has today, while still pushing the energy transition agenda.
Avuru maintained that if the government must prioritize the energy transition agenda, it should have raised the country’s crude oil production to about three to four million barrels per day presently, and afterwards, reduce production to one million barrels per day by 2040. He added that the country should have achieved domestic gas production of four billion standard cubic feet per day between now and 2030.
