He was speaking on Monday at the
opening of the 6th African Petroleum
Congress and Exhibition where he
represented President Muhammadu
Buhari.
The Vice President, who declared the
conference opened, said that ending gas
flaring was an imperative for African oil
producers considering the amount of
waste involved, adding that the
Nigerian government had set an earlier
national target of 2020 to end gas flaring
in the country.
While calling on African countries to take
advantage of the gas-to-power potentials,
he observed that “there is also the gas-to-
power challenge in many member-states
and the paradox of much gas but
precious little gas to fire power plants.”
“It’s time to take a much further stand on
gas flaring, both from environmental and
a waste-of-needed-resources
perspectives,” the Vice President stated to
the gathering composed of oil and energy
ministers from several African countries
and chieftains in the oil and gas sector.
The Vice President explained that the
incremental use of gas in Africa’s energy
mix has become an imperative, stressing
that “if Africa must meet her future
energy needs, the issue of the
development of a robust gas
infrastructure must be jointly addressed.”
According to him, of the over 150 billion
cubic metres of associated gas flared
annually in the world, “Africa flares an
estimated 40 billion cubic metres, while
about half of that is flared by Nigeria.” He
further observed that Nigeria has the 7th
largest deposit of gas in the world with
reserves estimated at over 185 trillion
cubic feet (TCF), and also the highest
quality.
Local Content
Addressing legislators, policy makers and
oil and gas industry experts from around
the continent at the International
Conference Centre in Abuja, Prof Osinbajo
observed that with the present volatility in
the industry, the coming years would be
defining for African oil and gas producing
countries.
He suggested that developing local
content initiatives and policies would be
very useful for the sector, while also
adding that “a common approach to local
content will ensure that the whole of
Africa benefit from economy of scale
associated with vast resources.”
Besides, he said with the current oil prices
and the challenges faced in the industry,
the relevance and creativity of the African
Petroleum Producers Association “is
being tested.”
Vice President Osinbajo gave the
assurance that the continent has all the
resources needed to transform African
countries stating that “there is no reason
why the African oil and gas industry
should remain attached to the apron
springs of industries elsewhere.”
Expressing the need for African oil
producing countries to take their destiny
in their hands, Prof. Osinbajo challenged
African Petroleum Producers Association
(APPA) member-countries to recognize
the latent and huge resources in Africa
and develop the strategy for the
development of domestic refining
capacity in the oil and gas sector critical
for sustainable economic growth.
“We must explore mechanisms to expand
regional refining capacities in an efficient
and cost effective manner”, he submitted,
recalling Nigeria’s active involvement in
the West African pipeline project expected
to deliver clean, safe natural gas from
Nigeria to countries in the sub-region.
While commending the organizers of the
conference, the Vice President described
the theme of the meeting – “Positioning
African Petroleum for Global Development
and Value Addition” as apt because hydro
carbon accounts for a significant
proportion of government revenue and
could help address the challenge of gas-
to-power for energy generation.
In his welcome remarks, Nigeria’s Minister
of State for Petroleum Resources, and
President of APPA, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu,
stated that the conference was timely,
coming at a critical period when the
industry was experiencing price volatility.
He observed that the situation is of global
concern threatening oil and gas
investments, but also creating
opportunities for new energy sources.
At the opening ceremony of conference
were members of the National Assembly,
Ministers and members of the Federal
Executive Council, FEC, from Nigeria
including the Communication Minister, Mr.
Adebayo Shittu, the Minister of State for
Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, and the
Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal.
The Executive Secretary of the association,
Mohaman Gaya, envoys, as well as local
and international petroleum industry
chieftains and experts were also in
attendance.
www.channelstv.com/2016/03/14/zero-gas-flaring-nigeria-to-sign-2030-un-deadline-agreement/

If the FG can implement this resolution, it would be a welcome development, there is colossal wastage going on in the oil industry