OpeOluwani Akintayo
10 March 2018, Sweetcrude, Lagos —The Nigeria Government has commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC for venturing into the development of renewable energy across the country.
The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, gave this commendation on Thursday during his visit to the NNPC’s pavilion at the ongoing Technology and Innovation Expo 2018 at the Eagles Square in Abuja.
Dr. Onu said the NNPC’s foray into renewable energy would help the country to maintain energy security, boost the national economy and position her for fuel export market.
“It is important that we spend a lot of our energy in making sure that we prepare for the future and the future is in renewable energy. I feel happy that this is going on. We are collaborating with NNPC in that respect to make it a reality,” Dr. Onu affirmed.
Dr. Onu disclosed that his ministry was interfacing with the corporation in converting flared gas into methanol, adding that methanol and ethanol production in the country would go a long way in making the country stable in energy supply.
“Because of the abundance of natural gas in Nigeria, we should be able to use all the flared gas and convert it into methanol which will make it more useful not just in energy but in power and petrochemical industries. We need to build a strong chemical industry in Nigeria to enable us to industrialise in a manner that will make us truly a great nation,” Dr. Onu enthused.
The minister thanked the NNPC for participating in the expo and for the support it gave to the Ministry in hosting Technology and Innovation Expo, stressing that the mere participation of the corporation is very important to the entire expo.
