NEWS

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Chief Timipre Sylva has restated Nigeria’s commitment to achieving net-zero gas emissions by 2060.

The Minister was speaking at the 7th National Council of Hydrocarbons in Minna, Niger State in the north of Nigeria.

Sylva, whose address was delivered by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ambassador Gabriel Tanimu Aduda, said that, in demonstration of its commitment, Nigeria has commenced the “mitigation and adaptation” of proactive measures towards achieving its net-zero emission targets by 2060. He noted that the 7th National Council of Hydrocarbons came at a time when global efforts were geared towards achieving net-zero gas emission.

He further noted that the recently concluded UN Climate Conference (COP27) held in Egypt, offered another opportunity for Nigeria to identify opportunities for cooperation and collaboration with other countries and international organisations that would help accelerate mitigation and adaptation of proactive measures to achieve its net-zero emissions targets.

Net-zero gas emissions are imperative if Nigeria is to continue its fossil fuel path

As a member of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization, the Minister assured Nigeria’s commitment to working and supporting other member countries who desire to develop their methane management guidelines and foster cooperation and collaboration for cleaner processing of fossil fuels. Oil and gas are a major development resource for Africa and will be for a long time to come. “We are however putting measures in place to ensure cleaner processes and processing to mitigate the impact of methane and greenhouse gasses”, he added.

Sylva noted that one of the gains recorded in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector with the signing of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 was the creation of regulatory frameworks with clear and non-overlapping mandates for the growth and development of the oil and gas sector.

The Minister stated that Nigeria as a major oil producing country on the African continent was not only committed to net-zero by 2060 and its energy transition plan, but was among the first 50 to have launched its guidelines for the management of fugitive methane and greenhouse gases emissions in the upstream oil and gas sector. He added that this was expected to be gazetted by the first quarter of 2023. After that the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) shall forward to all stakeholders a six months’ compliance directive to reduce Nigeria’s emission footprints and increase its air quality.

In his address, the governor of Niger State, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, was confident that achieving the energy transition plan in Nigeria was attainable, if as a people, they are able to strategically outline the right policy directions and draw up implementable frameworks for the supervisory agencies correctly.

Governor Bello who was represented by the Secretary to the Niger State Government, Alhaji Ahmed Mutane, informed that there is proven presence of commercially viable hydrocarbon in the Bida Basin of the State. In an effort to explore and harness the hydrocarbon opportunities in the Bida Basin, the state government had engaged Whitepages International Company Ltd as a consultant in collaboration with the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University and the Federal University of Technology, Minna.