PIA: ETC, OGTAN Holds Lecture Series on Power Generation

Funmi Ogundare

Energy Training Centre ( ETC), a training, consulting and learning interventions for the energy sector, recently held a lecture series, designed to create the necessary framework for the PIA to support the gas sector in meeting several long-term challenges, as well as impacting the power generation sector in Nigeria with relation to domestic gas supply.

The programme themed, “Nigeria’s Energy Sector: A Review of the Decade of Gas and the PIA Impacts – Economic and Sustainability Perspectives,” was held in partnership with the Q3 2021 Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN).

In his remarks, OGTAN President, Mr. Sam Azoka Onyechi reiterated the importance of the lecture series as an opportunity to review the impact of the PIA and its fate in the current energy environment against the backdrop of advocacy to defund fossil fuel projects in preference to renewable energy sources.

“The PIA was enacted to provide the legal, governance, regulatory, and fiscal framework for the development of the Nigerian petroleum industry catering for core issues such as gas flaring that has previously stifled the industry, “he said.

He also emphasised the importance of the partnership between OGTAN and ETC saying it is aimed at bringing together excellent and knowledgeable industry voices including notable academia to discuss the enthralling issues of the oil and gas sector in the country.

Principal Partner at George Etomi & Partners, Mr. George Etomi, expressed relief that the PIA had been passed despite the fact that it had taken 20 years, adding that there is a need for continuous exploration and exploitation of the Nigerian gas reserves to energize the power sector. “There is currently a mismatch between the cost of gas and the tariffs that should be charged to enable the entire power value chain to be liquid. Notwithstanding the obvious challenges, the sector should take lessons from what happened with other critical sectors such as the banking and telecommunication sectors, as transition is never easy”, he said

Technical Advisor on Gas Business and Policy Implementation to the Honorable Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Justice Derefaka, highlighted the key role of OGTAN and its members saying that ETC will have in training the workforce that will be required in the oil and gas sector especially in the digitisation of the gas section which is very critical.

Director, Government Relations, AOS Orwell Limited, Charlotte Essiet in her presentation, drew attention to the critical importance of governance and administration in the PIA, especially with the upstream gas sector.

She reiterated the symbiotic relationship between companies and host communities saying that they should always be seen as partners.

“The PIA has done a good job of listing out a proper framework for such a relationship to thrive. Regardless of the energy mix, Nigeria must develop a deliberate transition plan for this to happen. There needs to be social, political, economic, and financial willpower.”

A lecturer and Programme Leader, Petroleum and Gas Engineering, The University of Salford, UK, Dr. Abubakar Abbas in his presentation emphasised the strengths and weaknesses of the PIA, stressing the need for the sector to look at other countries such as the United Kingdom and Egypt who have implemented similar frameworks and see what lessons can be learnt to fast track Nigeria’s adoption and implementation of its strengths and opportunities.

The CEO of Ecocity Projects Limited and a facilitator of the popular ETC program on How to Start an LPG Business in Nigeria, Mr. Norbert Shialsuk, pointed out the opportunities for a robust energy mix of gas and renewable energy, which include opportunities in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), CNG (Autogas), and solar energy.