Almost 60% of Nigeria's population of over 200 million people, according to data released by THE Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) yesterday, suffer from extreme energy poverty.
He urged the next civilian administration to carry on the goals outlined in the current administration's "Decade of Gas" agenda while speaking at the ongoing Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja.
According to him, Nigeria shouldn't be experiencing energy poverty because it is endowed with a wealth of resources, particularly natural gas.
Asserting that LNG and its derivatives had the potential to satisfy the country's energy needs, Mshelbila urged for significant investment in the industry.
Using the ongoing Train 7 as an example, he claimed that NLNG Limited has already made significant efforts to develop the product.
“We need to move at a faster rate than we currently do. Other LNG nations are moving faster than us. Qatar is doing a lot. They do not have the kind of human resources that we have. We should do more because we have the people with the right skill set and commercial gas reserves.
“It takes much longer time for us to plan, get approval, and execute our plans. There is nothing wrong with Nigeria’s ‘Decade of Gas Policy’; It is good. The next civilian administration should not think of coming out with another. What we need is consistent execution,” he said.
“Nigeria’s population is growing, one of the fastest in the world, and its energy demand is also growing and we expect that in the next 30 years, energy demand will grow by at least 50 per cent. Today, 60 per cent of Nigerians are living in energy poverty and that is in a country that has one of the biggest natural resources of oil and gas on the continent.
“About 400,000 people, mostly women, die every year from exposure to indoor air pollution because they are using wood, charcoal, and other forms of cooking fuels in a country that is abundantly blessed,” he added
In a similar vein, Engr. Simbi Wabote, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, advised regulatory bodies in the sector to view themselves as business facilitators.
He added that the process is not "a sprint but a marathon," but he was optimistic that the gas strategy and institutions established by the current administration would be maintained by the new administration.
