TotalEnergies urges petrol marketers to leverage renewables in cutting emissions, costs

TotalEnergies has urged operators in the downstream segment of the Nigerian petroleum industry to adopt solutions that would reduce operating expenses and emissions.

General Manager, Crude Oil & Gas Commercial, Total Energies EP Nigeria Limited, Dabotekenari Alabo, stated that operators of the 6,000 retail outlets across the country would significantly improve their profits if they run their operations on renewable instead of diesel.

“That will bring a significant increase in your revenue and reduce your overall cost. This will also bring a reduction in your emissions,” he noted.
Alabo stated that the downstream segment in Nigeria would be better positioned if operators are reinvesting their profits in new energies.

He disclosed that while the country has over 500 retail stations across the country, about 50 per cent operates on solar with a timeline already set for the others.

The development, according to him, has significantly reduced the cost of operation that would have been incurred from the rising price of diesel. Alabo stated that Total would increase its footprint in revenue to align with climate goals, stressing that the company has built over five megawatts of off-grid electricity in the country.

Managing Director of Ardova Plc and Chairman of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Olumide Adeosun stressed the need for operators in the downstream segment of the oil and gas industry to optimise their operations.

Adeosun noted that while certain things may be outside the control of the marketers, focusing on areas that are within their control and leveraging them to their advantage is sacrosanct.

“We must reduce inefficiency, especially in performance and validation. Today the way the industry works is that we have deports and within those deports we have representatives of the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), whose role is to perform certain duties but we see situations where we have to make requests severally without prompt action,” Adeosun said.He added that such development would not improve the efficiency of the sector.

According to him, the sector must be automated to make businesses faster, adding that there must be an ecosystem that would boost investor confidence.