The Society of Petroleum Engineers has lamented the high rate of natural gas waste in Nigeria.
The SPE said it is preparing its members for decarbonisation of the African petroleum industry in the face of threats posed by the prevailing global campaign for the energy transition.
The group declared that decarbonisation of fossil fuels has become important in order to spur the development of the continent with available and affordable energy.
The group bewailed the massive resource waste in the Nigerian petroleum industry, where it noted that poor infrastructure and low industrial capacity enabled the utilisation of a small fraction of produced gas.
The petroleum engineers also lamented the massive drift of Africa’s skilled labour from the continent, warning that mass emigration of youths is creating deep skill shortfalls in building local capacity for domestic industrial development.
Africa Regional Director of SPE, Engr Riverson Oppong, who was in Nigeria recently, stated that resilient demand for oil and gas across the globe has made crucial the deployment of technology in addressing carbon footprints of the industry, adding that the net-zero mantra in the global climate campaign currently indicates a shift of focus from energy transition to energy transformation.
Oppong, who was featured at the debut edition of the Oilda Fireside Chat platform hosted in Lagos, explained that the campaign for energy transition is shifting focus from demand migration from fossil fuels to the decarbonisation of the industry.
The Oilda Fireside Chat is an executive media platform that provides an opportunity for industry leaders to share experiences and perspectives on crucial issues in the emerging energy landscape.
Oppong added that the campaign for energy transition is pushing production pressure in the continent as African governments hasten the derivation of full economic benefits from their petroleum resources.
The situation, according to him, challenges professionals in the industry to evolve technologies and practices that align with the demands for decarbonisation.
Oppong, who hails from Ghana, said his country is currently pursuing its clean energy programmes as a matter of cost efficiency, stressing that the petroleum industry in Ghana is conceived not to waste even a molecule of gas.
In regretting the massive waste of gas resources in Nigeria and other places on the continent, he called on African governments to accelerate the industrialisation of their economies in order to create useful utilisation for the continent’s vast natural gas resources.
He noted that petroleum remains the most available energy to drive the industrial development of the continent.
Oppong clarified that green energy technology has not attained the capacity and the efficiency level required to accelerate Africa’s industrial and economic development, stressing that petroleum remains the best option to achieve Africa’s energy security.
According to him, green energy sources like solar and wind are still very vulnerable to weather conditions and thus would not adequately power homes, businesses, and industries.
The engineer pointed out that some of the challenges to resource valorisation in the continent are related to policy and commercial issues, adding that the global quest for energy transition has made it urgent for African producers to deemphasise exports and use petroleum energy to accelerate industrial development.
In response to the challenges of resolving skills flight and evolving technological innovations that would serve Africa’s energy future, Oppong stated that SPE Africa has initiated a move to set up an advisory board of experts from the continent to assist with articulating innovative strategies that would respond to the prevailing energy deficits in the continent.
Part of the objectives, he said, is to champion innovations that would decarbonise the petroleum industry in a manner that would be cost-effective and economically beneficial to the industry.