NNPC highlights funding challenges for gas projects

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd has stated that the country is currently struggling with insufficient funding to develop its domestic gas projects.

It said the low funding is being exploited by international oil companies who only assist in exporting gas.

The Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, made this disclosure while speaking at a Strategic Panel Session titled, “Decarbonising Operations across Upstream, Midstream and Downstream” at the ongoing Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday.

According to a statement on Tuesday signed by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd, Olufemi Soneye, this year’s edition, the 40th in the series of the annual event, is held under the theme, “Connecting Minds Transforming Energy” as global energy leaders continue to find ways of accelerating innovation and collaboration towards fast-tracking global energy transformation.

Kyari, who was represented by NNPC Ltd’s Executive Director, Upstream, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, said Nigeria sits on huge gas reserves of up to 209 trillion cubic feet.

However, he noted that access to capital for funding gas projects has been a challenge as the balance sheet which could be easily used for raising money to fund gas projects, comes mostly from the International Oil Companies, which is also largely focused on export gas.

“It is important to know that if we must solve this existential problem, then there should be a provision for the global south (less energy-endowed countries) to access capital to enable them to address their problems,” he observed.

The national oil firm also called for more
collaboration and transparency among parties in the global energy industry’s quest to phase out carbon emissions across the oil and gas value chain and achieve net zero by 2050.

Kyari said beyond collaboration, transparency and openness are also important not by vilifying those lagging, but by ensuring that the gaps between all parties are bridged.

He said Africa is currently faced with the challenge of tackling the twin problem of decarbonization and energy poverty and to
deal with such a challenge, Nigeria made two fundamental policy shifts to support the nation’s decarbonisation process.

“One is declaring the decade of gas as a transition fuel from a predominantly diesel and fuel economy to a gas-driven economy, while the second is the removal of fuel subsidy. NNPC Ltd has relied on these two policies to drive
the nation’s decarbonisation agenda,” Kyari said.

He added that as a signatory to the Oil & Gas Decarbonisation Charter, Nigeria is focused on achieving gas flare-out by 2030 through the utilisation of gas for automotive and power generation.

Kyari decried how all parties are placed in the same bracket in the quest to decarbonize, saying that because the pace of progress is based on the current state of the countries, the OGDC must continue to provide a level playing field for all.

“It is in understanding the differences that exist among us, even though we are trying to solve the same problem,” he added.

Describing the level of collaboration in the quest to decarbonize as “phenomenal”, Kyari cited the example of TotalEnergies, which took the challenge to partner with NNPC Ltd through its methane measurement and detection technology.

With over 180,000 participants in attendance, ADIPEC is adjudged to be the world’s largest and most inclusive gathering of energy professionals.