Dutch oil giant, Shell says it is not leaving Nigeria yet but is rather deepening its operations in the country and helping the country expand scope of opportunities available for its citizens in the energy sector.

Shell Nigeria’s General Manager, Commercial, Hans Nijkamp This clarification was given Sunday night, April 16,2023, at the pre-conference dinner of the 6^th Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES).

The energy giant used the window to reiterate its commitment to its presence in Nigeria. The issue of divestment has been a burning one, especially in the Niger Delta region.

Shell pointed to several exciting projects coming on stream.

Speaking as the sponsor of the Minsters and Head of Delegation Dinner that kicked off the event, Shell Nigeria’s General Manager, Commercial, Hans Nijkamp, talked about key projects for Shell in Nigeria including several gas and pipeline projects.

He said these will help Nigeria utilise its vast gas resources to meet energy demand for domestic industrial development and for export to generate much-needed revenue for Nigeria.

He said recent global events continue to highlight the world’s urgent and long term energy demands.

He pointed out that these present opportunities for Nigeria to quickly utilise available vast gas resources.

He also mentioned Nigeria’s own growing population needs and affordable energy for industrialization, electricity, and other sundry developments, adding that Shell has projects to help meet these opportunities.

He stressed: “Shell is not advancing actions on the onshore portfolio review in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order to maintain the status quo. Shell’s relationship with Nigeria remains strong and we continue to focus investment in Nigeria’s deep-water exploration and production, in our renewable energy space with All On. Our Shell Energy Nigeria business line is also working to expand the gas distribution solutions being championed by Shell Nigeria Gas Limited.”

Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) says it is determined to reliably deliver energy to its stakeholders, through efficient utilization of hydrocarbons and other new energy sources which the country is blessed with.

Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC Limited, disclosed this at the 6thNigeria International Energy Summit NIES 2023, with the theme: Global Perspectives for Sustainable Energy Future, taking place in Abuja

He said sustained energy sufficiency directly enables economic growth and development as can be seen in the history of the developed countries.

He said this is why the organisation is focused on efficiently producing energy while minimizing the effect on the environment.”

He said oil and gas remains a significant component of energy the global energy mix therefore the country is unlocking more opportunities across both the oil and gas value chain spanning from supply and infrastructure to the markets.

He listed the major areas of support to the FG such as the realization of key initiatives such as the Decade of Gas and the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) which seeks to deepen natural gas utilization as an alternative transportation fuel, virtual gas supply to off-pipeline grid gas customers and gas utilization as feedstock for the development of gas-based industries.

The other is in heavy investment in critical gas infrastructure such as the Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kano gas pipeline and the OB3 gas interconnector to support 5 Bscf/d of domestic gas utilization including 5 GW of power generation capacity by developing power plant projects along the AAK pipeline corridor and across the country to complement the existing ones.

He said as for the gas export market, the on-going NLNG Train 7 will expand Nigeria’s LNG production capacity to about 30 million tons per annum (30 MTPA). This is in addition to the planned Nigerian Morocco and the Trans Sahara Gas Pipeline projects which will supply gas to sub-regional African countries and subsequently Europe.

He said in addition to the company’s existing Upstream activities, it is  also deepening exploration activities of the Nation’s frontier Basins using the best industry standards and technologies which is already yielding results such as the Kolmani discovery,  stating further that the company is hopeful that the recent spud-in of the EBENYI – A in Nasarawa State will yield positive result as well.

According to him, the 6th edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit has provided us all with a platform to tell our story and engage further based on our unique landscape and strengths which will eventually contribute to form part of the global narrative. NNPC will continue to leverage our partnerships with the Industry, Government, Research Institutions and the Academia to ensure energy security and sustainability.