Osinbajo urges more private investment in gas infrastructure
Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has called on the private sector to leverage the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to stake more investment in gas infrastructure across the country.
Osinbajo made the call yesterday at the Domestic Gas Summit organised by the Energy Trade Group of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).
The Vice President said the government has adopted policies and passed legislation to increase the production and use of natural gas to power the economy.
“The private sector must take advantage of new laws and opportunities by rolling out investment in gas infrastructure. We must take full advantage of the gas reserves that we have consistently told the world that we have. This will not only ensure energy stability but will also meet the needs of various sectors of the economy,” he stated.
Osinbajo, represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Adeyemi Dipeolu, also expressed concern over the insistence by development finance institutions and some countries that gas projects should be defunded.
He noted that defunding gas projects in the run-up to the global Net-Zero emissions target will be unhelpful to developing countries such as Nigeria.
Osinbajo noted that the world does not have to choose between energy poverty and climate change as the challenge could be addressed with both natural gas and Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) as transition fuels alongside other renewable sources.
He said: “It is of concern that after several decades of oil and gas, a growing number of wealthy nations or their institutions are restricting public investment on fossil fuels including natural gas.”
“This policy does not distinguish between different kinds of fuel nor the vital roles some fuels play in powering the economic growth of some developing countries.
“Indeed, several developed countries and international financial institutions have taken aggressive steps in limiting fossil fuel investment in another part of the world. In Africa indeed, the African Development Bank, of which we are major stakeholders, is increasingly unable to support large natural gas projects in the face of shareholder pressure from its non-regional members. The world however should not have to choose between energy poverty and climate change as these can be addressed by using more natural gas and other renewable sources.
Osinbajo said for Nigeria, which is rich in natural resources but still energy poor, the transition must not come at the expense of affordable and reliable energy for people.
“On the contrary, it must be inclusive, equitable and just, which means preserving the right to sustainable development and poverty eradication as enshrined in global treaties such as the 2015 Paris climate accord.
“As a major source of wealth and energy in Africa, development of oil and gas resources is critical for economic growth and revenue expansion. For many countries including Nigeria, the priority is to transit from fossil fuel to natural gas.”
The vice president maintained that curbing natural gas investment in Africa will do little to limit carbon emissions globally but do much to hurt the continent’s economic prospects.
“Right now Africa is starving of energy. If we exclude South Africa, sub Saharan Africa of about one billion people has the power generation capacity of 81 gigawatt far less than the 108 gigawatt that a country like the United Kingdom produces.”
On his part, Minister of Trade and Investment Niyi Adebayo, said Nigeria’s gas sector is hampered by high gas prices, foreign exchange fluctuation, and inadequate gas transportation infrastructure and value chain.
According to him, the government has successfully developed a framework to tackle the challenges.
President of ACCI, Al-mujtaba Abubakar said gas has been identified as the energy of choice across the board because it is cleaner, greener and safer, adding that the movement for energy transition is considered to be a global ideal.
