The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has said that the federal government has established a $50 million Energy Fund in partnership with Afreximbank to aid expansion of Nigeria’s Domestic utilization programme.
Speaking at the Nigeria International Energy Summit(NIES) in Abuja on Monday, Sylva said as part of the National Gas Policy; the National Gas Flare Commercialization Programme, the federal government have established a 20- million Cylinder Injection Scheme; 5-10 million of which are to be introduced in pilot states this year.
“LPG is set to be part of the destination as it is being used as a precursor for green hydrogen with zero emission. An eventual move to bio-LPG will allow countries like Nigeria to keep existing infrastructure in place, capitalize on already existing supply and distribution chains and reach net-zero at far lower cost. This, no doubt will help overcome the concern of stranded assets and Consumers will not have to re-invest in expensive electrical solutions if their gas appliances can be re- purposed for zero carbon LPG”, he stated.
“We have embarked on a critical pathway to ensuring that the over 200 Trillion Standard Cubic Feet (TSCF) proven reserves of Natural gas in Nigeria is marshalled to engender domestic economic growth and development beyond 2030. Thus, we are driving to make natural gas our dominant primary energy source for use in the medium to Long term. Thankfully, our reliable partner, the Nigeria LNG Limited is not backing out. They are fully backing this initiative all the way”
He said for countries such as Nigeria, that is rich in natural resources but still energy poor, the transition must not come at the expense of affordable and reliable energy for people, cities, and industry.
“On the contrary, it must be inclusive, equitable, and just—which means preserving the right to sustainable development and poverty eradication as enshrined in global treaties such as the Paris accord. It is evident that what makes the most sense from the point of view of “balancing energy security with environmental sustainability is the use of gas as a transition fuel”, he noted