-Advocates academia-industry collaboration for energy sufficiency
Oritsegbubemi Omatseyin
NNPC Limited stated this as it said it is at the forefront of ongoing efforts to boost the country’s energy diversification initiative having equally identified the major challenges hindering energy security in Nigeria.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Mele Kyari, gave the assurance while speaking as a guest lecturer during the 2024 Faculty Lecture organised by the Faculty of Science of the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife, Osun State with the title, “Energy Security, Sustainability and Profitability in Nigeria; Advances, Challenges, and Opportunities”.
He identified the major challenges hindering energy security to include rapid population growth, pipeline vandalism, and crude oil theft.
Addressing the nation’s projected rapid population growth, Kyari harped on the importance of finding solutions to ensure sustainable energy security for the benefit of current and future generations.
He underscored the intensified competition for vital resources and urbanisation drive, saying this would lead to a doubling of Nigeria’s energy demand by 2050.
On the challenges posed by pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft, the GCEO observed that the issues have impacted NNPC Limited’s operations and stressed that the establishment of a command-and-control center has aided the detection and destruction of illegal refinery sites, removal of illegal connections, thereby addressing vandalism across operating corridors since 2021.
“The centre provides live streaming of surveillance data to security forces, contributing to the detection and destruction of over 5,686 Illegal Refinery (IR) sites and the removal of 4,480 Illegal Connections (ICs) from 2021 to the present,” Kyari added.
Acknowledging the severity of vandalism and oil theft, Kyari hinted at a strategic shift, focusing on increased product trucking and storage in underground tankages at NNPC filling stations nationwide.
He highlighted NNPC Ltd’s expanded retail assets, making it the largest single downstream company in sub-Saharan Africa after acquiring OVH retail stations and associated downstream infrastructure in 2021.
On NNPC’s transformation into a fully commercial limited liability energy company following the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, Kyari said the removal of fuel subsidies has allowed the Company to play a more active commercial role, ensuring profitability and delivering greater value to Nigeria’s growing population.
Kyari called for collaboration between the academia and the oil and gas industry towards addressing the challenges of energy sufficiency and sustainability noting that active collaboration between the academia and the oil and gas industry will drive Nigeria’s quest to achieve energy sufficiency and sustainability.
He said the role that academic communities, such as the OAU, play in safeguarding national energy security was more through research and collaboration with the industry.
