Day two of SSOP 2022 sees industry leaders addressing South Sudan’s potential to use its vast oil and gas resources to address energy poverty and shifts in the global energy landscape
The second day of the South Sudan Oil & Power (SSOP) 2022 Conference featured a panel discussion that addressed South Sudan’s potential to utilize its vast oil and gas resources to alleviate energy poverty and adhere to shifts in the global energy landscape.
Moderated by Reec Akuak, Partner at Capium Partners, the panel discussion featured Hon. Tom Remis, Undersecretary for the Ministry of Energy and Dams for South Sudan; Luris Mulla, CEO at L Mulla; Jamal Monduku, Founder and President of SSGPA; Dr. Jacob Dut Chol, Director of Planning at Nilepet; Rickard Sandberg, CEO Clena Sustainable Future and Eng. Duku Michael, Hazmat Engineer at Envirocare Waste Management and Engineering Company.
“The energy mix is important for everyone. We must embrace these changes that we have today as far as renewable energy is concerned,” stated Dr. Chol, adding, “We must be able to be ready to ensure that we tackle the issue of the energy transition now. We must ensure that we work very hard to reduce our discharge and make sure we are not caught off-guard by the world powers.”
We must embrace these changes that we have today as far as renewable energy is concerned
Energy security remains on the forefront of discussions at this year’s conference, with shifts within the global energy landscape and the energy transition having forced South Sudan to strike a balance in its pursuit of access to power, making use of its vast oil and gas resources while developing alternative sources of energy.
To alleviate the country’s high electricity costs, Hon. Remis stated that, “The power tariff in South Sudan is the highest in the world at approximately 40 cents per KWh. This is simply because we are using very expensive sources of energy, which are diesel and heavy fuel oils.”
With the potential to play a leading role in the global energy transition, Africa’s geographic biodiversity holds immense potential for solar, wind, and hydro power, with renewable energy poised to deliver socio-economic benefits and energy access, while the role of gas is expected to drive the future direction of energy-sector transformation.
“We are dealing with the training and knowledge enhancement of our population. The importance is for us not to leave gaps between the expats and the young people in South Sudan. We have a plan to expand our platform so that most people will benefit from our services. The importance of training and development of our youths is to create and prepare a new vision for tomorrow. We have to prepare for the coming generation, which is why training and development is crucial,” concluded Monduku.
