By Ikenna Omeje
Nigeria is fast moving from an oil driven market to a gas-enabled market, with an emerging renewable sector, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Seplat Petroleum Development Company, Mr. Roger Brown, has said.
Brown who said this at the 4th Nigeria Entrepreneurship Summit and Honours (NESH) Oil and Gas Roundtable, noted that oil will continue to remain relevant in years to come.
Nigeria has over 37 billion proven oil reserves, with target to increase it to 40 billion in no distant time and over 200 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) of gas reserves. He said that with these sizeable reserves, Nigeria will remain an important country in the next 10 years.
“Nigeria will remain an important country in the next decade with sizeable reserves, as the country is being ranked second on the ladder in proven oil reserves and ranked first in proven gas reserves in 2020.
“Oil remains relevant locally for the foreseeable future. Nigeria is fast transitioning from an oil driven market to a gas-enabled market, with an emerging renewable sector,” Brown was quoted as saying, according to a post on Seplat’s LinkedIn account on Wednesday.
Speaking on what Seplat is doing in the area of gas acceleration, renewables and delivery of low carbon energy in the country, he said: “As a company, we have created a ‘New Energy Unit’ to spearhead gas acceleration, explore renewables space as well as opportunities to deliver a low carbon energy business.
“Our outlook for 2021 takes into consideration the recent oil trends and regulations in Nigeria and to optimize production from existing assets and arrest decline through new drills and work overs.
He added that “For 2021, our work program delivery is underpinned by a strong commitment to safety, asset integrity and operational excellence.”
Seplat has been playing a key role in deepening gas utilization in-country. The company on February 1, 2021, announced that its Incorporated Joint Venture (IJV), the ANOH Gas Processing Company (AGPC), has successfully raised US$260m in debt to fund completion of its ANOH Gas Processing Plant (ANOH).
The 300MMscfd capacity ANOH plant, located on OML 53 in Imo State, is being built by AGPC, which is an IJV owned equally between Seplat and the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
ANOH is one of Nigeria’s most strategic gas projects. It will help the country to accelerate its transition away from small-scale diesel generators to cleaner, less expensive fuels such as natural gas for power generation.
Its Oben Gas Plant facility sited at Oben Field in Edo State, provides gas that facilitates the provision of over 35 per cent of electricity in the country.
