Nigeria Not Planning to Stop Fossil Fuels Soon—Oil Minister

This submission was made by the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Mr Heineken Lokpobiri, at the 13th Practical Nigerian Content Forum organized by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa, this week.

Mr Lokpobiri explained that no country in the world will stop the production of fossil fuels when there are still markets for it, noting that Nigeria has a lot of reserves and has not utilised enough to consider stopping the use of fossil fuels, despite several calls from many quarters.

Speaking on the theme Deepening the Next Frontier for Nigerian Content Implementation, the Minister observed that even Western countries like the United Kingdom were still giving licenses for exploration.

“All these clamour about energy transition that says we should stop production of fossil fuel, we will never stop the production of fossil fuel in Nigeria, no country in the world will stop it.

“In 2023, UK which contributed 4.8 per cent of global emissions, higher than the entire OPEC countries put together, entire African continent put together and still gave over 100 licenses to new companies for new exploration.

”America is the highest producer of fossil fuel, so why should we stop, those who are telling us to stop are themselves not stopping, so we should know that is about politics.

“Let me also use the opportunity to tell the industry players that with the emergence of Donald Trump as U.S. President, the price of oil maybe battered.

”What I want us to do is to increase our own production, Africa already has enough market. We can produce enough fuel to supply the West African region and the entire Africa, but our biggest challenge is funding,” he said.

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo, urged local businesses in the country to invest in Compressed Natural Gas (GNG) as gas will be a mainstay of the economy after the energy transition.

“Gas will be the mainstay of Nigeria’s energy shift, and we’re giving local businesses a chance to engage in gas distribution, processing and power generation.

”The probable replacement for PMS has been determined to be natural gas in the form of CNG.

“Let me reiterate this administration’s unwavering commitment to advancing local content as a cornerstone of our energy strategy, together, we have the opportunity to build an energy industry that empowers Nigerians, strengthens our economy and contributes to the sustainable future,” he said.

On his part, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Mr Felix Ogbe said the board has achieved 56 per cent in Nigerian Content level in 2024 compare to 26 per cent in 2016.

He stated that some of the achievements of the board include; Commissioning of Amal Technologies in Idu, Abuja; and the Kwale Gas Gathering facility in Delta, approval of 312 Nigerian Content Plans, and issuance of 402 Nigerian Content Compliance Certificates (NCCCs) bythe board amongst others.