Lagos — Nigerian and German companies have signed a $500 million renewable energy pact and a gas export deal that further strengthen economic ties between the two countries.
Presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed this in a statement, saying the accords were signed Tuesday in Berlin.
Union Bank of Nigeria and Germany’s DWS Group, according to Reuters report, signed a memorandum of understanding, MoU, on renewable energy. The agreement seeks to harness $500 million in investment in renewable energy projects across Nigeria, mostly in rural communities, spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement.
The deal will help process about 50 million cubic feet per day of natural gas that otherwise would have flared.
Nigeria holds Africa’s largest gas reserves of more than 200 trillion cubic feet, but flares, or burns off, about 300 million cubic feet daily due to inadequate processing facilities, Reuters reports.
President Bola Tinubu, who is attending the G20 Compact with Africa conference in Berlin, welcomed the deals, Ngelale said.
On Monday German Chancellor said Germany will invest 4 billion euros in green energy projects in Africa until 2030, noting these could in turn help Europe’s largest economy achieve its own transition to carbon neutrality.
Germany will need to import large quantities of green hydrogen going forward, including from Africa, if it is to achieve its goal of net zero emissions by 2045, he said at a German-African business forum in Berlin.
The forum preceded the G20 Compact with Africa summit that aims to drum up investment in the world’s poorest but fast-growing continent by coordinating the development agendas of reform-minded countries and identifying business opportunities.
