Oando Energy Resources has urged Nigeria to actively extract its abundant crude oil reserves to drive socio-economic development and industrialization, despite global pressures for an energy transition.
In addition, the company emphasized the importance of utilizing Nigeria’s vast proven and unproven natural gas reserves, which amount to hundreds of trillion cubic feet (tcf), to support sustainable development.
Dr. Ainojie Irune, the Executive Director of Oando Plc and Chief Operating Officer of Oando Energy Resources, made these remarks during a panel session at the recently concluded Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week 2024 in Abuja.
Discussing the topic “Navigating a Sustainable Future for Independent Producers,” Irune cautioned African nations against a hasty transition to the 30-year Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 vision.
He argued that a rapid shift to green energy is impractical for Africa, given its abundant energy resources and widespread poverty.
“We have always felt it was too soon for us as Africans with huge amounts of energy resources, but we exist in deep poverty.
We can’t transition ourselves to further poverty. We were asked to march on to a 30-year Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 vision aimed at achieving universal access to modern energy services by 2030 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
We committed ourselves to the vision of turning all of our energy resources to renewable energy; unfortunately, we have no business latching on to that dream,” Irune said.
Irune, who also serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Oando Clean Energy Limited, highlighted the importance of a balanced energy mix. He noted that oil and gas will continue to play significant roles in the future.
“At Oando, we no longer feel pressured by the energy transition push; instead, we see an acceleration in our crude oil extraction.
Therefore, African countries need to extract every molecule of crude oil from beneath the earth’s surface and use natural gas to champion the continent towards sustainable development.”
He also outlined Oando Plc’s commitment to supporting the African economy through renewable energy projects.
“While extracting oil, we can harness solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro in ways that support our economy,” he said.
Irune mentioned that Oando’s Clean Energy Division is engaged in several projects, including transportation, solar energy, waste-to-value, wind, and geothermal energy, in collaboration with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
He noted significant progress in the transport sector, particularly with the electric vehicle initiative in partnership with the Lagos state government, aiming to deploy 100 buses following a successful pilot phase.
Furthermore, Irune emphasized the importance of ecosystem development, local capacity building, and knowledge transfer.
“We believe in contributing to ecosystem development, learning, and local capacity building. It’s essential to build a base that allows us to explore our oil and deploy capital to increase the size of these projects in a manageable way,” he said.
In a related discussion at the NOG Energy Week, Michelle Pflueger, Director of Deepwater and Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) at Chevron Nigeria and Mid-Africa Business, called for genuine stakeholder collaboration in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
She stressed the need for partnership to harness Nigeria’s abundant oil and gas reserves, human capital, and investments for the benefit of the country, operators, and all stakeholders.
“There are the reserves, there are the people, and I believe there are the investments; that’s why we are here. We have people willing to invest money in technology to solve these challenges.
I believe it’s a partnership. I don’t think anyone, and I don’t think the federal government alone can build the energy security that this country needs.
I think it requires a culture of true collaboration where we are all in it for the growth because there are too many barriers to growth and each of us is going to bring a different piece,” Pflueger stated.
She added that the Nigerian oil and gas industry needs stability, security, a competent workforce, and business partners bringing in technology and services.
Pflueger emphasized the need for collaboration among independent producers and international oil companies (IOCs) to address challenges across the entire portfolio, from deepwater to nearshore to the energy transition.
“To make more money, we must work together. This cooperation can expand the pie, benefiting everyone and increasing returns on investments for all companies. True collaboration is key to achieving this,” she concluded.
