The group managing director of Nigeria’s state oil company, Mallam Mele Kyari has said that as a national oil company and a global player, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) is taking front seat in the global shift to renewable energy.
Speaking on the sidelines of the convocation ceremony of the Federal University of Technology, Minna where he was conferred with a doctorate degree, Kyari said the Nigeria’s state oil firm taking firm position in this transition by institutionalizing the necessary enablers for success.
“NNPC has established a Renewable Energy Division and has completely transformed the NNPC R&D Division to NNPC Research, Technology and Innovation as part of our key initiatives to transit to energy company of global excellence,” Kyari said.
He said the company the NNPC will continue its collaboration with the education sector, adding that the company welcomes beneficial relationship with the Academia and Industry Experts who demonstrate capacity for productive research and innovation in the energy sector.
The NNPC boss GMD predicted that oil will remain very relevant in the global energy mix of today and the future, but added that as transition to cleaner energy gains momentum, especially across the developed countries, oil companies must continuously improve operational efficiency and reduce their costs to remain on the playground.
He added that inclusive policy actions have become the necessary ingredients required to achieve net zero carbon economy as well as Sustainable Development Goals 7, which seeks to address energy poverty especially amongst the least developed countries.
Earlier in his address at the ceremony, the Vice Chancellor of FUT Minna, Abdullahi Bala, said that the transition from fossil fuel to renewable has reinforced the need for Nigeria to start thinking of a future without oil.
He said before now, oil constitutes a bulk of the country’s gross domestic product but added that the narrative is beginning to change as other developed countries adapt to climate change.
The VC said, “We all know that oil constitutes a higher percentage of foreign exchange for Nigeria and until recently, it also constitutes a larger portion of Nigeria’s GDP. We are also being told that by the year 2050, oil will no longer be the precious commodity that it is now and so it is of interest for Nigeria to look at the way forward. What are we are going to do beyond the economy of oil.
“But there are already moves by developed countries in the name of climate change and environment to reform investments and areas that rely on fossil fuels. So for us, the existential threats does not lie in 2050 but it begins now. And so we should be interested in energy transition that will help the Nigerian economy or at least provide a road map for Nigeria to continue to have a robust economy now and in the future.”
By Chibisi Ohakah, Abuja
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