The Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), Mr. Mele Kyari, has emphasized the need for a collaborative effort between academia and the Oil & Gas Industry to address the challenges of energy sufficiency and sustainability.
According to Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd., Olufemi O. Soneye, Kyari made this call during his guest lecture at the 2024 Faculty Lecture entitled, “Energy Security, Sustainability, and Profitability in Nigeria: Advances, Challenges, and Opportunities,” organized by the Faculty of Science at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Wednesday.
Highlighting the pivotal role academic institutions, such as OAU, play in ensuring national energy security through research and collaboration with the industry, Kyari discussed the challenges hindering energy security in Nigeria.
These challenges include rapid population growth, pipeline vandalism, and crude oil theft. Kyari identified energy conservation, diversification, and efficiency measures as crucial avenues for enhancing energy security.
Addressing the projected rapid population growth, Kyari emphasized the importance of finding sustainable solutions to ensure energy security for the benefit of current and future generations.
He underscored the intensified competition for vital resources and urbanization drive, predicting a doubling of Nigeria’s energy demand by 2050.
On the challenges posed by pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft, Kyari disclosed that NNPC Ltd.’s operations had been impacted.
However, he stressed that the establishment of a command-and-control centre had significantly aided in the detection and destruction of illegal refinery sites and the removal of illegal connections since 2021.
“The centre provides live streaming of surveillance data to security forces, contributing to the detection and destruction of over 5,686 Illegal Refinery (IR) sites and the removal of 4,480 Illegal Connections (ICs) from 2021 to the present,” Kyari added.
Acknowledging the severity of vandalism and oil theft, Kyari hinted at a strategic shift, focusing on increased product trucking and storage in underground tankages at NNPC filling stations nationwide.
He highlighted NNPC Ltd.’s expanded retail assets, making it the largest single downstream company in sub-Saharan Africa after acquiring OVH retail stations and associated downstream infrastructure in 2021.
While underscoring NNPC Ltd.’s transformation into a fully commercial limited liability energy company following the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, Kyari noted that the removal of fuel subsidies has allowed the Company to play a more active commercial role, ensuring profitability and delivering greater value to Nigeria’s growing population.
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