Concerned about the negative environmental impact of greenhouse gases, Mr Osagie Okunbor, Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), tasked Nigerian academia and graduates on Monday with developing low-carbon technologies.
Okunbor, speaking at the University of Benin’s 51st Founder’s Day Lecture, predicted that such technologies would lead Nigeria into the coming decades, when renewable energy would play a larger role in the energy mix.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the lecture was titled “The Global Energy Transformation and the Implications for Nigeria.”
According to the latest NNPC estimates, Nigeria has around 202 trillion cubic feet of proven gas and 600 trillion cubic feet of unproven reserves, according to the guest lecturer.
He did, however, point out that, as a global company, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant is approaching greenhouse gas emissions reductions from a variety of perspectives.
He stated that, despite the fact that Nigeria is well positioned to ride the wave of the current energy transition due to its abundant natural fossil fuels and renewable energy, the country must move with urgency and clarity.
According to the managing director, the main greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.
However, he added that the primary greenhouse gas produced when fossil fuels are burned is carbon dioxide.
Okunbor called for the abolition of routine flaring, which he claimed was harming the environment.
He also advocated for a shift to natural gas and increasing the country’s gas share of hydrocarbon production to 55%, as well as a low-carbon power supply through increased renewable energy supply.
“As a company, we are clear that, while the energy transition entails risks, it also entails commercial opportunities and allows us to expand on our positive contribution to society”
“As the world transitions to an energy that is aligned with the Paris Agreement’s goal, our comprehensive energy transition strategy seeks to reduce those risks while enhancing our ability to profitably lead.”
“Shell companies are very clear on the potential of gas to accelerate industrial and economic growth in Nigeria and have heavily invested here across the entire value chain of gas upstream, midstream, and downstream,” he said.
Okunbor also stated that the company’s goal is to reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere through Carbon Capture and Storage facilities.
Furthermore, he stated that the company is engaged in aforestation and tree planting in order to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
In his remarks, the Chancellor of the University, Prof. James Ayatse, who is also the Tor Tiv, asked for staff cooperation with the institution’s management, led by Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lilian Salami.