The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has laid out an ambitious plan to eradicate the country’s energy shortages within the next ten years, offering reassurance to Nigerians during the opening ceremony of the seventh Nigerian International Energy Summit in Abuja.
Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, delivered this pledge, emphasizing the corporation’s dedication to collaborating with stakeholders to bridge the energy deficit gap and foster prosperity for Nigerians, according to a statement from Olufemi Soneye, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPCL.
“From all indications, all issues of energy scarcity in the country would be over in the next 10 years,” Kyari affirmed.
Kyari highlighted NNPCL’s pivotal role as the primary partner to all oil-producing companies in Nigeria, portraying the corporation’s involvement in the divestment of onshore and shallow water assets from international oil companies as that of a facilitator rather than an impediment.
He stressed that NNPCL’s statutory mandate as the facilitator of national energy security entails ensuring optimal and sustainable production from divested assets to secure energy for the nation’s benefit.
Furthermore, Kyari unveiled the corporation’s intent to invest in the proposed African Energy Bank, aiming to secure sustainable funding for energy projects across Africa to uphold energy security.
In addressing energy infrastructure investments, Kyari revealed that the completion of the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben Pipeline was on the horizon, with ongoing tunnelling operations across the River Niger.
The summit attracted key stakeholders, including Haitham al-Ghais, the Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC); Omar Farouk Ibrahim, the Secretary-General of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO); Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil); Ekperikpe Ekpo, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas); and Mohammed Idris Malagi, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, representing President Bola Tinubu.
