Gas Is Nigeria’s Logical Transition Fuel, Says Seplat Energy Boss

Making a case for gas development in Nigeria, Seplat Energy Plc, a leading Nigerian independent energy company, has said gas development is a clear solution to Nigeria’s immediate problems and remains a longer-term transition fuel.

The Director of New Energy at Seplat Energy, Mr. Effiong Okon, said this whilst delivering a Keynote during the Gas Stakeholders Conversation panel session at the 2024 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) held in Abuja. “Increasing the supply of reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy is Nigeria’s greatest challenge; but gas is the logical transition fuel we need to realize this,” Okon said.

He linked gas development to power, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) export, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) production, fertilizer production, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) production, and building materials production, among others.

He added: “Today we have acute housing and infrastructure shortage, but no commercially viable substitute for the production of building materials e.g. cement, glass, steel; about 90,000 deaths per year due to biomass cooking; and rising population presents an urgent need to improve agricultural production. We can fund all of the above with gas. “We can also reduce reliance on petrol, increase and decarbonize domestic transport fuel if we leverage on gas. Of course, these would in turn strengthen our focus on sustainability.”

According to the IEA Global Energy Outlook 2022, natural gas production in Africa is expected to grow by 15 percent between 2020 and 2030, driven mainly by new projects in Egypt, Nigeria, and Mozambique.

Okon stressed that the Nigerian energy industry must focus on end-to-end solutions to unlock the full value of Nigeria’s gas, noting that exploration, production, gas processing, and delivery of gas to the last mile remain germane to maximizing the dividends of the resource.

For a sustainable gas development program in Nigeria, the Seplat New Energy Director emphasized the need for bankability and access to low-cost capital; use of technology, Internet of Things (IoT), and smart metering to reduce Aggregate Technical Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses; and technology-enabled revenue delivery opportunities to aid fund collection.

At the NIES 2024 Award Ceremony, Seplat Energy won the coveted award of the Gas Infrastructure Project of the Year.

The award was received by Mr. Okon on behalf of the management and staff of the Company.