Speaking at a programme in Abuja last week, Mallam Mele Kyari the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), assured that “We Are Ready” to continue from where fleeing international oil companies stopped in oil exploration business.
Otherwise, NNPC has sent a message to Shell and others planning to Abandon Nigeria’s Oil that Nigeria is ready to push on.
Kyari noted that there has been a major global push for oil companies to shift focus to cleaner energy, but believes that despite the clean energy push, the world will continue to need crude oil.
Nigeria will continue to explore its oil resources, even if international oil companies decide to take a walk amid pressure to shift to clean energy.
In recent months, there have been reports that top international companies like Chevron and ExxonMobil, which are operating huge oil assets, are planning to exit Nigeria.
Shell Plc plans to keep investing in its renewables and energy solutions business steadily this year after it hit an all-time high in 2022 There is additional pressure from Europe and America on Nigeria and other oil-producing countries to jettison their resources in pursuit of cleaner fuels. Reacting at a recent lecture in Abuja, Kyari explained that despite the pretence, the world would not abandon fossil fuels anytime soon.
Kyari stated that it is not feasible to replace all the vehicles and tricycles in Nigeria with electric vehicles between now and 2035; therefore, crude oil will remain relevant.
Kyari further noted that the NNPC had made massive investments to make sure its focus is on gas exploration works.
“But no one is going to help, so for us, we need to resort to self-help.”
“We need the cash flow, and the cash flow is what we need to make sure tomorrow we become self-reliant. Therefore, we are leveraging the position of the oil industry.”
