Petroleum Engineers Calls For Maximisation Of Gas Resources

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Nigeria Council, has called on federal government to adopt implementable energy policy that will maximise Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources to address the nation’s energy deficit.

The society advocated the need for strict enforcement of gas flaring penalty by oil companies to deter the practice, which was affecting the country negatively.

The SPE recalled that president Muhammadu Buhari had assured the global community of Nigeria’s commitment to achieving a net zero carbon emission by 2060 and was working towards that but urged the government to deploy adaptive strategies that protect Nigerians from the socio-economic impact.

Chairman, SPE, Nigeria Council, Olalekan Olafuyi, stated these at a press conference preparatory to the 2022 Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) in Lagos.

The NAICE is a yearly event of the SPE and this year’s edition is scheduled to hold from August 1, to August 3, in Lagos.

Olafuyi said, the theme of the conference: “Global Transition to Renewable and Sustainable Energy and the Future of Oil and Gas in Africa”, is very apt and in line with current realities.

Despite its huge oil and gas deposits, Nigeria continues to grapple with high energy deficit, leading to acute poverty and wide scale unemployment.

He said: ‘The world is facing the challenges of balancing the urgency of transition to cleaner energy with the obvious energy deficit and economic challenges experienced in recent times.

“It is expected that adaptive strategies for energy transition should be adopted in Africa. This is the core of the conference.”

He also called for investments in gas infrastructure across the country and establishing policies that would support gas development and utilisation.

On the spate of oil theft in the country, Olafuyi said, SPE was ready to assist the government in proffering solutions that could curb the menace. He added that the activities of vandals and oil thieves were shortchanging Nigeria’s revenue and had become a huge challenge to the industry.

Olafuyi said the 2022 NAICE would feature contributions from minister of state for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva,and Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd.