Page 11 - AfrOil Week 21 2021

AfrOil POLICY AfrOil

African producers urged not

to heed ‘doomsday’ narrative

AFRICA THE director of Nigeria’s Department of Petro- production and exports – presumably the long-
leum Resources (DPR), Sarki Auwalu, this week awaited Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
urged African oil and gas producers to continue On that topic, Nigerian Oil Minister Timipre
tapping their oil and gas reserves for the greater Sylva said last week that the government’s exec-
good of the continent’s development. utive arm is in talks with MPs to ensure the bill
Auwalu said: “For a better and secured future, is passed in June.
Africa must rise to the challenge of harnessing its Days earlier, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo
over 125bn barrels of proven oil reserves and 625 said the document was in its third (and final)
trillion cubic feet [17.7 trillion cubic metres] of reading, adding that Nigeria is “trying to make
natural gas for the development of the continent.” our oil and gas industry more competitive”.
He argued that the continent must not be With this in mind, Auwalu added that the
“cowed to abandon its quest to grow its econo- country is “putting increased emphasis on mid-
mies by the ‘doomsday’ narrative of ‘end of oil’ stream investments and gas-focused infrastruc-
era and jettison the development of its resources.” tural development for domestic value addition
“Africa’s resources must be used to fuel Afri- via the refinery revolution and decade-of-gas ini-
ca’s development; the same way other continents tiatives”. The latter will seek to leverage Nigeria’s
utilised dirtier fossil fuels to fuel their economic 203 tcf (57.5 tcm) of gas reserves for domestic
transformation. To achieve this, we must take gas supply, alternative fuels and petrochemicals.
our destinies in our hands and join hands across “All these efforts will significantly increase the
all spectrum – technical, economic, legal, com- quantum of in-country value addition to drive
mercial, operational, financial and political – [to] the contribution of oil and gas to GDP, employ-
drive regional energy security and economic ment generation and poverty eradication,” he
sustainability.” said.
However, he said that Nigeria acknowledges Auwalu made the comments at the opening
the reality of the energy transition, saying Abuja ceremony of the 5th Edition of the sub-Saharan
is committed to the accelerated development of African International Petroleum Exhibition
its petroleum resources through the establish- and Conference, which focuses on opportuni-
ment of an appropriate legal framework to sup- ties on offer in a post-coronavirus (COVID-19)
port upstream asset acquisition, development, world.™

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