The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mallam Mele Kyari, says Nigeria deserves to have the freedom to adopt a more gradual and flexible approach to the energy transition.
He spoke yesterday while presenting a paper at the 40th annual international conference and exhibition of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists.
Kyari spoke on the topic: Global Energy Transition and the Future of the Oil and Gas Industry: Evolving Regulations, Emerging Concepts, and Opportunities.
He noted that rapid demographic change would continue to drive up the demand for energy services across Africa in the coming decades.
Kyari, who was represented by the Executive Vice President of Upstream, Adokiye Tombomieye, stressed that oil demand in Africa stood at an average of 4.36 million barrels per day in 2022.
He said: “It is, therefore, our firm position that fossil fuel will continue to contribute more than 50 percent to the energy mix in Africa and possibly the rest of the world.
“However, the most important question for this strategic gathering is around the competitiveness of the hydrocarbon sources, compared to renewal comparatives in terms of cost, energy contents, and sustainability.
“Recent happenings in the Russian-Ukraine crisis have seen the resurgence of the need for fossil fuels and, in some cases, adverse use of high-carbon generating energy sources, like coal. This also points to the fact that energy transition implementation has to be gradual.”
