Despite global clamour for energy transition from fossil due to climate change, Nigeria’s foremost energy firm, Oando Energy Resources has called on the Federal Government to be aggressive in extracting the nation’s crude oil for its socio-economic development and industrialisation.
The company also added that Nigeria must at the same time use its hundreds of trillion cubic feet of proven and yet-to-be-proven natural gas to drive sustainable development.
The Executive Director of Oando Plc and Chief Operating Officer of Oando Energy Resources, Ainojie Irune, made the call during a panel session at the just concluded Nigerian Oil and Gas Energy Week 2024 in Abuja.
Sharing his thoughts on the topic, “Navigating a Sustainable Future for Independent Producers”, Irune cautioned African countries against a hasty shift towards the 30-year Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 vision.
He therefore described Africa’s hasty shift towards green energy, as a disingenuous approach, arguing that Africa, with its abundant energy resources but with widespread poverty, cannot afford a hasty transition to renewable energy.
“We have always felt it was too soon for us as Africans with huge amounts of energy resources, but we exist in deep poverty.
“We can’t transition ourselves to further poverty. We were asked to march on to a 30-year Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 vision aimed at achieving universal access to modern energy services by 2030 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“We committed ourselves to the vision of turning all of our energy resources to renewable energy, unfortunately, we have no business latching on to that dream,” he said.
Irune, who is also the President and Chief Executive Officer of Oando Clean Energy Limited emphasized the relevance of a balanced energy mix, noting that oil and gas would still play significant roles in the future.
According to him, “At Oando, we no longer feel pressured by the energy transition push; instead, we see acceleration in our crude oil extraction.
“Therefore, African countries need to extract every molecule of crude oil from beneath the earth’s surface and use natural gas to champion the continent towards sustainable development.”
Highlighting Oando Plc’s commitment to supporting the African economy through renewable energy projects, Irune said, “While extracting oil, we can harness solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro in ways that support our economy,”
He mentioned that Oando’s Clean Energy Division is engaged in several projects, including transportation, solar energy, waste-to-value, wind, and geothermal energy in collaboration with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.
