Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, said Nigeria and other African countries must leverage technology and innovation to facilitate access to energy and the transition.

In a statement released by the company on Monday, Kyari said this in a lecture titled “Energy Transition and Energy Accessibility – The New Paradigm” delivered at the 30th graduation ceremony of the Federal University of Technology in Minna, Utah. State of Niger.

He said the need to leverage technology and innovation has become imperative to support energy self-sufficiency, industrialization, job creation and economic growth.

Kyari said that while the results showed that the global transition to renewable energy will continue to accelerate, the pace may not be fast enough to balance the impacts of economic expansion and population growth around the world.

He added that the increase in the world’s population, especially in Asia and Africa, will significantly push up energy demand where renewable energy sources cannot meet by 2050.

Kyari said NNPC is committed to achieving carbon neutrality, using Nigeria’s vast natural gas resources as a low-carbon alternative that will help improve access to energy, thereby strengthening the Nigerian economy.

“To achieve a seamless transition to cleaner energy, global players must promote the diversification of energy sources to improve global energy access and reduce the absolute number of people without access to energy, especially in Africa,” Kyari said in the statement.

“As Africa’s largest national oil company, we rely on the convergence of new technologies and innovative business models to secure energy access for today and tomorrow.

“NNPC has put in place the necessary mechanisms to lead Africa in the transition to low carbon energy and renewable energy. We are deepening the use of natural gas under the national gas expansion program.

“NNPC is currently extending the natural gas infrastructure backbone from Ajaokuta in Kogi State to Kano via Abuja and Kaduna under the AKK Gas Pipeline Project.

“This mega pipeline will be fed from both the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) and Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipelines through the Oben node in Edo State and will deliver 2bscf of natural gas to power stations and to industrial buyers along Abuja. , Kaduna and Kano.

“As a national oil company and a global player, NNPC is poised to lead the global shift to renewable energy.

“We are taking a strong stance in this transition by institutionalizing the catalysts necessary for success.

“NNPC has created a Renewable Energy division and completely transformed NNPC’s R&D division into NNPC’s Research, Technology and Innovation as part of our key initiatives to transition to Energy Company of Global Excellence.”

The GMD said oil will remain crucial in the global energy mix now and in the future.

He added that as the transition to cleaner energy gains momentum, especially in developed countries, oil companies must continually improve operational efficiency and reduce costs to stay on the playing field.

He added that inclusive policy actions have become the necessary ingredients to achieve a zero-carbon economy as well as Sustainable Development Goal 7, which aims to tackle energy poverty, especially among least developed countries. .

Also speaking at the event, Abdullahi Bala, Vice Chancellor of FUT Minna, said the energy transition underscores the need for Nigeria to prepare for the future by diversifying its economy away from oil.

He said oil made up the bulk of Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) and foreign exchange (FX), but added that the narrative was starting to change as other developed countries adapted to climate change.

“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,” Bala said.

“We are also told that by 2050, oil will no longer be the precious commodity that it is today, and so it is interesting for Nigeria to consider the way forward. beyond the oil economy?

“But there are already moves by developed countries in the name of climate change and the environment to reform investments and areas that depend on fossil fuels.

“So for us, the existential threats do not reside in 2050, but they begin now. And so we should be looking at the energy transition that will help the Nigerian economy or at least provide a roadmap for Nigeria to continue to have a robust economy now and in the future.