The Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo on Tuesday insisted that with its huge abundance of natural gas resources, Nigeria should not be facing energy poverty.
Ekpo who stated this in Abuja at the Ministry of Petroleum Resources 2024 Retreat, stressed that gas is set to play a central role in Nigeria's quest for economic development and energy sufficiency.
The retreat had the theme: "Building Synergy for Enhanced Development in the Oil and Gas Sector".
He noted that to achieve the government's objectives "first and foremost, we must prioritize infrastructure development to support the exploration, production, processing, and distribution of gas. This includes investments in gas pipelines, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, and gas processing plants to ensure efficient transportation and monetization of our gas resources.
"By expanding our gas infrastructure network, we can enhance access to gas markets, stimulate investment in upstream exploration and production activities, and create new opportunities for economic growth and diversification.
"Furthermore, ensuring the widespread penetration of gas nationwide is essential to realizing its full potential as a transition fuel. This entails not only increasing domestic gas production but also promoting the adoption of gas as a cleaner alternative for power generation, industrial processes, transportation, and household use. Initiatives such as the 'Decade of Gas Initiative' are instrumental in driving gas utilization across various sectors through targeted interventions, infrastructure development, and policy incentives".
Also speaking, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri observed that with over 90 percent of Nigeria's foreign exchange earnings coming from oil export, it was critical that production is ramped up to meet both export and local refining demands.
He explained that the retreat was organized to chart a roadmap on how to meet the target set for the oil and gas industry by President Bola Tinubu.
"Our first mandate is to ramp up production as this is critical to our economy and government finances. To do this, we need investments and this will come through competitive fixed costs and stable regulatory framework", he added.
He pointed out that it would be embarrassing to the country if the industry was unable to meet domestic feedstock demand for refineries when they come on stream in the course of the year.
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