According to SEPLAT Energy Plc, gas production is a straightforward solution to Nigeria’s urgent energy crisis and would continue to serve as a long-term transition fuel. Mr. Effiong Okon, Seplat’s Director of New Energy, remarked during the Gas Stakeholders Conversation panel session at the recently completed 2024 Nigeria International Energy Summit in Abuja.
Mr Okon disclosed that increasing the supply of reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy remains Nigeria’s most significant challenge. Still, with gas being the logical transition fuel, it is pertinent if this issue is tackled.
He linked gas development to power generation, liquefied natural gas export, compressed natural gas production, fertilizer manufacturing, liquefied petroleum gas production, and building materials manufacture, among other things.
He added: “Today, we have an acute housing and infrastructure shortage, but no commercially viable substitute for the production of building materials like cement, glass, and steel; approximately 90,000 deaths are recorded each year as a result of biomass cooking; and rising population necessitates an urgent need to improve agricultural production.” We can fund all of this with gas.
He stated that there is a need for the nation to minimize the dependency on gasoline while increasing and decarbonizing domestic transportation fuel as it would deepen our commitment to sustainability.
Okon emphasized that the Nigerian energy business must focus on end-to-end solutions to unlock the total value of Nigeria’s gas, saying that exploration, production, gas processing, and gas distribution to the last mile were essential to maximize returns.
For a sustainable gas development program in Nigeria, the new energy director of Seplat emphasized bankability, access to low-cost funding, and the use of technology, the Internet of Things, and smart metering to reduce aggregate technical commercial and collecting losses.
He proposed technology-enabled revenue delivery alternatives to help fund collections.
At the NIES 2024, Seplat Energy was awarded the Gas Infrastructure Project of the Year, which Okon accepted on the Company’s behalf.
