MARGARET CHIDERA
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says Nigeria, as a nation, needs to consider investments in Green Hydrogen in view of energy transition.
Osinbajo made the call while unveiling a book titled “Understanding Natural Gas: A Nigerian Perspective” on Thursday in Abuja.
The Vice President urged the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to take into account investments in green hydrogen for clean energy.
The book with 12 chapters, has its Author and Co-author as Dr David Ige and Mr Dapo Akinosun (SAN) respectively, and reviewed by Mr Bello Rabiu and Mr Osten Olorunsola.
The global demand for green hydrogen, which is an alternative low carbon energy, is anticipated to increase by 700 per cent by 2050.
Osinbajo said already there were a lot of talks about green hydrogen in particular, which required natural gas to produce, adding that its huge investments were being taken advantage globally.
“So we, as a nation, ought to be thinking in terms of this greener gas. I believe that investments in hydrogen is something we should take seriously. I am sure that NNPC Limited will take that into account as we plan for the future.
“We must embrace the opportunity to harness our vast natural gas resources responsibly and judiciously, and while simultaneously chatting a path towards a cleaner and greener future,” he said.
The vice president also called for a faithful implementation of an energy transition plan which involved decade of gas proposals.
“Nigeria’s energy transition plan attempts to chart a pathway forward because we see solar and renewable energy as the bedrock of that plan.
“And the plan is to develop about 250 gigawatts of solar plants by 2060, which is when we intend to achieve the Net 0.
“The plan also outlines our decarbonisation strategies in the area of power, oil and gas and transportation.
“But it also seeks to mitigate against the possible long-term job losses in oil and gas sector in particular, because this is an industry that has dominated our economy for decades,” he said.
He said due to global geopolitics especially Russian-Ukraine war, gas prices skyrocketed and countries were forced to confront the vulnerabilities of their own energy supply strategists giving rise to urgent calls for re-evaluation and diversification.
He, however, commended the authors of the book, which he described as one of the few technical texts that had a strong policy and legal perspective towards gas utilisation.
In a remark, the authour, Dr David Ige, CEO of GasInvest Limited, a natural gas consulting and investment company said his personal sojourn in natural gas started exactly 18 years ago.
Ige, former Group Executive Director – Gas and Power at the old NNPC, recalled that there was little or no data on gas at that time but realised as he advanced that the solutions being proposed for gas were inconsistent with the scale of demand in gas.
He said his key drivers and sources of inspiration were his policy work on gas master plan at NNPC, teachings in the universities, quest for holistic aporoach to gas, infrastructure, commercial framework, among others.
He commended the co-author for ensuring that the content of the book was adopted for its relevance to legal practitioners, particularly the young players who would be entering the natural gas for the first time and industry professionals.
Also speaking, the Co-author, Akinosun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a Founding Partner in SimmonsCooper Partners, a leading commercial law firm, said the history of the book began with the advice by the vice president several years ago to look into Gas Law.
“Even though gas was not popular then I went on the journey. How to find materials on gas and learn on it became a challenge, ” he said.
Akinosun, who specialises in gas, banking and finance, foreign investment, divestment, and commercial dispute resolution, said the collaboration with Ige who intimated him on business for young lawyers on gas and agreements coupled with his passion aided the knowledge transfer.
The formal book presentation and unveiling had many dignitaries in attendance including Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Chief Justice of Nigeria and Malam Mele Kyari, GCEO, NNPC Limited, among others.
