Africa needs oil money to fund green energy

Sopuruchi Onwuka

The rising global sentiments against the fossil energy production are pushing back realization of the seventh requirement for global Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-7) of the United Nations.

The Oracle Today reports that the SDG-7 provides a global guarantee for the right of the global community to efficient, sufficient and affordable energy.

However, Nigeria and other African petroleum producers will continue to address energy poverty in developing economies through sustained hydrocarbon exploitation in order to achieve the double objective of sustained economic growth and generation of funds for development of green energy.

The Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, stated on Monday that Africann countries must evolve adaptive energy transition strategies in order to suit different socio-economic, political and developmental peculiarities of individual nations.

Chief Sylva who spoke on “Global Transition to Renewable and Sustainable Energy and the Future of Oil and Gas in Africa” said people in the continent form significant part of about 1.5 billion people in the world are yet to escape energy poverty.

“Africa is still bedeviled with chronic energy poverty in this modern age, with about 600 million having no access to electricity, and about 900 million having no access to clean cooking fuel.  This is unjustifiable, to say the least,” he declared.

In the face of its peculiar energy challenges, Chief Sylva said, African countries need to collaborate on energy security against “the global energy transition onslaught.”

He said governments of Africa “will have to look inward and harness its resources, while accelerating technology development.” He also called for cross-border infrastructure and expanded regional energy market to guarantee long-term energy security.

In emphasizing that the continent is not a climate change denier, Chief Sylva said Africa has a key role to play in securing a greener world, adding that the future of Africa’s oil and gas industry is still bright for powering “our economies sustainably.”. 

He made it clear that “Nigeria, as the oil and gas industry leader in Africa, is committed to pursuing the energy transition to promote economic growth, and is gradually investing in renewable energies, primarily solar, to reduce carbon emissions, whilst continuing to exploit hydrocarbon resources, especially natural gas – recognized as the energy transition fuel for Nigeria. 

“Nigeria has the most extensive gas resource in Africa with proven gas reserves of over 200 trillion cubic feet. It is envisaged that with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 in full implementation across the broad spectrum of the oil and gas industry, Nigeria is well positioned for a reformed oil and gas industry that could sustain the local demand for natural gas and a high export income.”

while acknowledging that transition to low carbon energy sources will make the world a better living place with a cleaner climate, Chief Sylva maintained that energy transition should emphasize making energy clean, “and not as abandoning some energy sources.”

He warned that the renewable energy industry cannot displace conventional fossil energy forms without creating acute supply crises. He pointed out that capacity of the renewable energy industry has been tested by the prevailing supply crisis in Europe where Russia is under-delivering fossil fuels.  

According to him, “the reliability and sustainability of these renewable energy supplies have been challenged by the recent energy crisis in Europe and the Americas, which has re-awakened new interest in fossil fuel supplies. We have seen coal plants being fired up in several European Countries recently, and a renewed interest in natural gas supply from Africa.

“There are also reports of increased oil and gas drilling operations in the USA with spontaneous permits being granted recently.”

He noted that the prevailing crisis could get worse in future as global population continues to grow and escalate demand.

“Anticipated economic growth and rising global population, especially in Asia and Africa, will significantly push energy demand upward to a level that renewable energy sources only cannot meet by 2050.

“All these imply that the global energy mix will remain with us, amidst greater dominance by hydrocarbon energy sources, at least in the foreseeable future. It also indicates that energy transition will remain a gradual process, as against a rapid and radical shift as some have presented it,” Chief Sylva stated

He canvassed that energy transition should encourage development of technologies that would decarbonize petroleum resources and other forms of energy to make them available for long term utilization as population and urbanization continue to create unending demand.

“It is therefore necessary that more effort should be put on the use of available technologies, like the carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), to make fossil fuels cleaner. 

“All available energy sources will be required to end the high level of energy poverty in Africa and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal of providing access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all,” he pointed out.

Chief Sylva also pointed out the role of hydrocarbon resources in helping Africa fund development of renewable energy. He made it clear that with the global funding freeze against fossil energy development, Africa would continue to rely on its fossil resources to generate funding for its energy transition plans.

He made it clear that whereas Africa also desires to have a complete mix of sources to escape energy poverty, the continent hopes to use fossil fuel revenue in funding renewable energy development under a gradual energy transition process.

Also pointing at transition of roles in the domestic petroleum industry where traditional multinational players are scaling down their presence, Chief Sylva said “the campaign for reduced funding of fossil fuels explorations has led to a gale of divestment by the international oil companies in Nigeria.”

“I strongly believe that this is an opportunity for oil and gas exploration in the country because Nigeria’s independent producers have developed capacity to fill-in the gap.

“It must however be admitted that the risk of limited international financing of oil and gas projects could jeopardize Africa’s energy transition and roadmap to attaining net-zero,” he noted.