Oando advocates for increased oil production in Nigeria despite pressures of energy transformation

Oando Energy Resources has stressed that Nigeria needs to be proactive in extracting the billions of barrels of crude oil that the country has at its disposal due to its socio-economic development and industrialisation, despite the pressures of energy transformation.

The company also added that Nigeria needs to simultaneously harness hundreds of trillion cubic feet (tcm) of proven and future natural gas resources to drive sustainable development.

The Executive Director of Oando Plc and Chief Operating Officer of Oando Energy Resources, Dr. Ainojie Irune, made this announcement during a panel discussion at the recently concluded Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week 2024 in Abuja.

Sharing his thoughts on “Navigating Towards a Sustainable Future for Independent Producers,” Irune cautioned African countries against rushing into the 30-year vision of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7.

He therefore described Africa’s rush to green energy as disingenuous, arguing that Africa, with abundant energy resources but widespread poverty, cannot afford to rush into renewable energy.

“We have always believed that it is too early for us Africans, who have vast energy resources, and yet we live in extreme poverty.

“We cannot move into further poverty. We have been asked to march towards the 30-year vision of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, which aims to achieve universal access to modern energy services by 2030 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“We have committed to the vision of converting all our energy sources to renewable energy, but unfortunately we have no intention of grasping that dream,” he said.

Irune, who is also the president and CEO of Oando Clean Energy Limited, emphasised the importance of a balanced energy mix, noting that oil and gas will continue to play a significant role in the future.

According to him, “In Oando, we no longer feel the pressure of the energy transition; instead, we see an acceleration in our oil production.

“That is why African countries must extract every molecule of oil from beneath the earth’s surface and harness natural gas to support the continent in its pursuit of 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 hydropower in a way that supports our economy.”

He mentioned that Oando’s Clean Energy Division is involved in several projects including transportation, solar, waste to value, wind and geothermal energy, in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

He explained that his organisation has made significant progress in transport sector projects thanks to the fact that the African economy is based on logistics.

“We are also involved in solar energy, waste-to-value projects, wind and geothermal energy. One of our advanced projects is the electric vehicle initiative with the Lagos State Government, where we are deploying 100 buses after the pilot phase,” he added.

Continuing, Irune stressed the importance of developing ecosystems, building local capacity and knowledge transfer.

“We believe in contributing to the development of the ecosystem, learning and building local capacity.

“It is essential that we build a base that will enable us to explore our oil and invest the capital to scale up these projects in a manageable way,” he said.

In this regard, Michelle Pflueger, Director, Deepwater and Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs), Chevron Nigeria and Mid-Africa Business, called for genuine collaboration among stakeholders in the Nigerian oil and gas industry to enable the development of the sector.

Pflueger, who spoke on another panel during NOG Energy Week, stressed that the partnership is essential to harness Nigeria’s abundant oil and gas resources, the country’s human capital and investments that benefit the country, operators and all stakeholders in the industry.

“There are reserves, there are people, I believe there are investments, that’s why we’re here. We have people willing to invest money in technology, in solving these challenges.

“I think it’s a partnership. I don’t think any one company, I don’t think the federal government can build the energy security that this country needs by itself. I think it takes a culture of real collaboration where we’re all in it for the growth because there are just too many barriers to growth and we’re all going to bring different things to the table,” she said.

She stated that the Nigerian oil and gas industry is in dire need of stability and security, competent workforce from the community and business partners who not only provide goods and services but also technology.

She added that “we need independent producers and the IOCs to come together and talk about the challenges facing the entire portfolio, from deep water to offshore to the energy transition.”

Pflueger maintained, “And I think we all want to make money, we all need to come together to really work together, and if that happens, I believe we can make the pie bigger. I think a lot of us have started looking for our piece of the pie.

“We’re all going to make money. As I said, we all like to do well in terms of return on investment. But I think there’s another view of this, where we can actually make the pie bigger, so there’s more for everyone, more for all businesses. And I think that has to come from a real spirit of collaboration.”

Peter Uzoho