In what seemed a conference of oil and gas practitioners, yesterday, industry stakeholders filled up the conference hall of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Lagos, for the public presentation of Charles Osezua’s book, The Rise of Gas: From Gaslink to the Decade of Gas.
The event attracted the GCEO of NNPCL, Melee Kyari; co-founder of Seplat Energy and founder AA Holdings, Austin Avuru; Chairman of UBA, Tony Elumelu and oil industry icon, Basil Omiyi, and many others.
The public presentation was indeed an avenue for deepening the ongoing conversations about energy transition and de-carbonisation in Nigeria as outlined in President Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.
The book, which has been described as “a magisterial account of Nigeria’s entry into the comity of oil and gas producing nations,” chronicles Osezua’s discovery of oil and gas, his study in Texas and the years spent making a case for gas at NNPC.
It traces the trajectory of his setting up Gaslink and other companies to show proof that gas can be a viable alternative feedstock for industries.
In his review, geologist and publisher, Toyin Akinosho, described the book as a “massive store of knowledge.”
According to him, it is “a very unusual Nigerian memoir as it doesn’t dwell on the author but on the subject…Charles Osezua did not write a book about himself, he wrote about the subject, which is why it is very short, 200 pages.
“The references to him have to do with the projects he embarked on. It is the narrative of the Nigerian gas sector, which depending on where you sit, is both the highlights of the opportunities and a listing of the frustrations.”
Chairman of the ceremony, Omiyi, on his part, commended Osezua for authoring the book as not many people have done so.
He said: “One of the reasons we have not solved problems like energy is because we have not agreed on what our national philosophy should be.”
Kyari, who was represented by Mrs Kemi Olumuyiwa of the Corporate Communications Department of the company, described the book as a useful resource that chronicles the rise of gas in Nigeria.
Elumelu, an early financial backer of the nascent Gaslink, said the author was his neighbour for many years and “we interacted about his desire to do so much in gas.”
Avuru, who partnered with Osezua’s Gaslink while at Seplat, congratulated the author on the milestone.
