Nigeria’s independent players in the oil and gas industry have the capacity of growing the county’ oil production capacity if given the necessary support and encouragement, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Seplat Energy, Roger Brown, said.
Brown spoke in Abuja on Wednesday during a panel session on ‘Defining the Regulatory Frameworks Required to Support the Capabilities of Independents and Incentivise Growth’ as part of the 2024 Nigeria Oil & Gas (NOG) Energy Week Conference & Exhibition.
He said the success of Nigerian Independent energy companies would benefit Nigeria through oil revenues and the development of a domestic gas-to-power industry.
This, he pointed out, would help to fund expansion into renewable energy, to help Nigeria increase energy access and unlock its entrepreneurial population, by providing reliable and affordable energy in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The Seplat Energy CEO said: “International Oil Companies (IOCs) will look to divest to credible local players, those with high levels of governance and accountability in their ESG efforts. Indigenous players also need strong balance sheets and credibility in international financial markets, because the assets they’re acquiring will doubtless need future development,” he said.
“Also, indigenous companies must commit to working with communities to maintain or increase Nigerian content, as Seplat Energy has been doing for many years.”
Speaking to the country’s sub-surface potentials could be largely optimized and oil/gas production levels increased if divestment and other related deals are expedited.
Sub-surface potentials, he said, could be largely optimized and oil/gas production levels increased if divestment and other related deals are expedited.
“The independents will play a key role in realising the country’s aspirations of the “Decade of Gas”, adding that strong governance framework was needed to support bankability of private sector direct participation/investment in this space.
“Nigeria’s biggest decarbonisation priority is to end small-scale generation and get households and businesses onto a reliable national grid that uses our gas resources, lowers the cost of electricity and allows renewable energy to be developed and connected into a nationwide grid,” Brown said.
Seplat Energy is committed to ending routine flaring by the middle of next year and we urge all other producers to make this a priority.
Seplat Energy’s new ANOH gas plant can supply enough gas to support more than 1GW electricity on the grid and this can displace hundreds of thousands of home generators; So, it will reduce the cost of electricity and hopefully get rid of these expensive and highly polluting generators, which are just a huge drag on Nigeria’s economy and which create massive problems with carbon emissions.
