UNIDO, Shell, TotalEnergies endorse clean energy investments

Stakeholdersat the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference and Exhibition have called for an equitable energy mix to enhance transition in consideration of Green Hydrogen investment and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Technology.

The stakeholders made this known during a panel session tagged “Candid Conversation: Defining the Journey to Equitable Energy Mix for Nigeria’’ at the on-going NOG Energy Week.

Supreme News reports that the 2023 Energy Week, which is the 22nd edition of the annual event, has as its theme “Powering Nigeria’s Sustainable Energy Future”.

Supreme News reports that CCS technology has been considered an important methodology to reduce Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions and a key to helping tackle global warming.

The global demand for Green Hydrogen, which is a cleaner and alternative low carbon energy, is anticipated to increase by 700 per cent by 2050.

The session however explored cleaner energy options that can be utilised by the manufacturing sector in meeting Nigeria’s energy supply needs and steps to unlock investment opportunities for alternative energy sources.

Speaking, Abimbola Wycliffe, Head of Investment and Technology Promotion Office in Nigeria of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) said from the UN perspective, energy transition was seen as an opportunity for industrialisation not a task.

Wycliffe said Nigeria could make the energy transition to work by embracing technologies such as CCS and utilisation.

“If the UN has been pushing the narratives of energy sustainability and low carbon emission future, why can’t we then push for top leadership in the sector to toll the light in achieving decarbonisation?

“It cannot be overemphasised that energy transition for a period of 15 to 20 years is inevitable. This is our reality but we can make it work by embracing the technologies such as carbon capture, storage and utilisation.

“If we do not start to talk about hydrogen, there will not be an opportunity to key into the technology when it is scaling in other climes.

“It is very good for Nigeria to embrace the narratives around Hydrogen because the more we scale renewables, the more viable green hydrogen will be for us in our energy mix,’’ she said.

She urged the International and Indigenous Oil Companies to adopt or have a discussion with UNIDO, which had some key programs targeted at accelerating clean tech, addressing energy transmission, and empowering youths.

She said though there was an energy transition plan, Nigeria needed to articulate a narrative in terms of strategies for attracting and retaining green funding to see maturation towards a new world of low emissions, industrialization, and empowerment.

“We gather to discuss oil, gas, and the economy, but how to balance the industry is missing in the conversation.

There is a need to start aligning our visions for energy, industrialization, and integration plans on how to advance.

“The incorporation of clean innovation technology is the responsibility of everyone now and has become the focus for UNIDO, especially getting women and youths involved,’’ she said.

She said democratizing knowledge on renewables by removing barriers to knowledge sharing and technological transfer was one of the things UNIDO had been driving in and across Africa.

She said it also focused on improving global access to components and raw materials because the energy transition would be powered by long-duration energy storage, hence battery solutions were paramount.

“It will be good for a forum like this to discuss how to expand and diversify our manufacturing capacity not only for export but also for internal consumption and domestic utilization because we have the minerals.

“We have to level the playing field for renewable energy technology by reforming our domestic policies.

The Electricity Act of 2023 has excited a lot of people working in the sustainable energy space.

“We are hoping that the implementation of the act will deliver on our carbon future,’’ she said.

She further underscored the need to shift energy subsidies from fossil fuels to renewables, especially now that there are no more subsidies on petroleum products.

Also speaking, Mr. Johnbosco Uche, Energy Transition Business Opportunity Manager of Shell Nigeria, said it could be difficult to get to absolute zero emissions while decarbonizing the upstream due to flaring, which it had tackled in its new projects.

“Therefore, he said carbon offsets in reducing carbon emissions became credible, especially nature-based solutions, which could take about 15 to 20 years, and any country that would like to use such a solution in the future should start now.

“The same comes into CCS technology as well; for an average carbon capture, storage, and utilization project, it takes about five to seven years from conception to execution.

“Therefore, should we in Nigeria wait till we are ready? We have to prepare ahead of time, and CCS is one of the technologies we have to deploy to decarbonize.

“It is evolving and capital intensive,’’ he said.

Uche explained that there was a CCS pilot project running in Nigeria that was funded by the World Bank and started through the office of the former Vice President, adding that they had been collaborating with the industry.

He said before the end of 2023, they would be able to turn out a report on the project.

He said the total emissions in Nigeria currently stand at 275 metric tons of CO2, adding that the contribution from oil and gas was less than 20 percent.

He said the project would cover industries including cement, fertilizers, and petrochemical industries, as well as refineries.

He thereby urged the government to support the evolving initiatives of the National Climate Change Council in view of the energy transition.

Also, Mr. Dabo Alabo, General Manager of Crude Oil and Gas Commercial at TotalEnergies EP Nigeria, said the company had always been supportive of Nigeria’s economic growth and development and issues concerning climate change, an efficient energy mix, and low emissions.

Alabo said TotalEnergies, being a company committed to delivering energy with less emissions, was ready to support the country in the journey towards decarbonizing the oil and gas industry.

He said it was committed to CCS technology and nature-based solutions, adding that TotalEnergies was always focused on finding solutions that matched the content.

“A lot of our research today on CCS is focused on reservoirs, using them to test the technology and continue to develop and innovate,’’ he said.

He said one of the advantages of the Decade of Gas was being able to grow our domestic consumption of natural gas from one Pound per cubic foot (PCF) to two PCF per day.

“Total Energy is committed to helping determine the direction the country will take in ensuring efficient gas supply and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

“We have laudable projects expected to come out in 2026 and 2027 targeted at producing up to 500 million scoffs of gas into the supply,’’ he said.