Emmanuel Addeh writes that the recent official visit by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tanimu Aduda, to Qatar has the potential to attract investment into the country’s gas sector.
At the just-concluded 15th Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) Africa Downstream Week in Lagos, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, projected that the nation’s demand for gas will continue rise astronomically in the coming years.
To be able to meet the skyrocketing demand, the NNPC’s helmsman stated that the country could need as much as between $1.6 billion $2.7 billion to improve the supply and distribution of petroleum products, revamp Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) infrastructure, and build Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) plants in the country.
A huge part of the expected demand growth, he said, would be driven by the increase in the wheeling capacity of existing national power grid, major fertiliser projects, especially the Dangote and Brass facilities, and industrial demand for natural gas in the northern axis of the country.
Indeed, the federal government is currently deepening natural gas utilisation to enable it boost investment in power and gas-based industries. It has committed huge resources to ensuring that domestic gas infrastructure reach every corner of the country to deepen natural gas utilisation.
Nigeria has over 206 trillion standard cubic feet of proven gas reserves, which the government is monetising with the introduction of numerous policies and industry interventions culminating in the declaration of 2020 as the year of gas and progressing into the decade of gas from 2021.
Some of the strategic projects that have been implemented to boost the gas sector are the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System Phase 2, commissioning of the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben Lot 2, the NPDC Oredo Gas Handling Facility, and the SEEPCO Gas Processing Plant.
There is also the ongoing strategic backbone gas infrastructure projects such as the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline, the OB3 final hook-up, the Nigeria-Morocco pipeline and several other gas-based industries initiatives. All these are expected to herald the era of gas revolution in Nigeria in the next 10 years.
In 2020, which unarguably remains the most devastating period in the history of the industry, gas gave Nigeria the lifeline when the revenue from crude oil, which the country has always depended on, failed to make any impact.
Largely dependent on revenues from crude oil export for its survival, the country’s economy contracted by 3.62 per cent in the third quarter of 2020, after having already slumped by 6 per cent in the previous quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), arising from falling oil prices.
Nigeria’s revenues dipped by as much as 60 per cent while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that it expected Nigeria’s GDP to decline by 5.4 per cent in that turbulent year. That was attributable to the volatility of oil prices in the international market, while gas prices are relatively stable.
But while experts continue to debate the waning relevance of crude oil in the global marketplace, the growing place of gas as a transition fuel in Nigeria has taken the centre stage.
While the push for renewal sources of energy and other emerging clean fuels cannot be jettisoned, the place of gas in the respect cannot be pushed aside and indeed is fast emerging as a replacement for dirty fuels.
With significant gas reserves, Nigeria has over $3 to $4 billion projects currently ongoing in the sector , some of which have reached advanced stages, in the country’s effort to rev up production for domestic use and for export.
To underscore the new importance Nigeria now attaches to gas production, last year, while President Muhammadu Buhari was launching the $2.6billion Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project, he said that the project facilitate the revival of moribund industries in the West African country.
Buhari said the project will create direct and indirect employment while fostering the development, technology transfer and promotion of local manufacturing.
“We promised the nation that we will expand the key critical gas infrastructure in the country to promote the use of gas in the domestic market.
“These include the Escravos to Lagos Pipeline System – 2 (ELPS-2), Obiafu – Obrikom – Oben (OB3) pipeline and the AKK. I therefore directed NNPC to ensure that these critical projects are completed on time, within budget and specification,” he added.
The Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) pipeline, a 614-kilometer (381.5-miles) pipeline, the president said, was specifically developed by NNPC to transport natural gas from southern Nigeria to central Nigeria.
But this project and other gas investments in the country cost money, a lot of money. Indeed, it is now very obvious that local investors cannot fund these projects alone.
It was perhaps, in realisation of this fact that the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Taminu Aduda, recently embarked on a shuttle to the State of Qatar to seek cooperation between Nigeria and the country in the area of gas development.
Making the call when he met with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, in Doha, the permanent secretary noted that the choice of Qatar as a good place to seek the inflow of foreign investment was because of the strides the country had made in the area of gas development.
Speaking at the meeting, Aduda underscored the imperative of investment in gas exploration and infrastructure; technology exchange, skills acquisition and knowledge sharing.
For him, because the development of gas has the potential to massively transform the country, Qatar as a country must take a special interest in the sector in Nigeria and collaborate to ramp up the funding of major gas projects in Nigeria.
In addition, he stated that there was the need for collaboration in the area of manpower development in safety and environment; gas shipping and marine transportation, as well as advocacy and collaboration in campaigning for gas as fuel of choice in the midst of climate change and global energy transition.
Other areas he touched was the relaxation of visa restrictions on Nigerians who intend to visit Qatar and relaxation of work place visa restrictions on Nigerian professionals.
The permanent secretary stated further during the meeting that one vital area the ministry of foreign affairs in Nigeria had resolved to focus and improve upon was the training and re-training of staff.
He said the training programme of Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar ranks among the best in the world and cuts across all categories of staff.
Aduda also discussed support and cooperation in capacity building for knowledge, skills and competencies for foreign service officers in line with the Qatari Competency Framework.
He further called for training of foreign service officers; collaboration between Nigerian Foreign Service Institute, the National Institute for International Affairs (NIIA) and Qatari Diplomatic Institute; provision of scholarship opportunities to Nigerians in the Qatari Diplomatic Institute; possibility of collaborative online studies between the two countries.
But of particular importance was the sector, which the ambassador said was very critical to Nigeria and therefore needed to be invested in.
The Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, in his response recalled the excellent relations between Nigeria and Qatar.
He also welcomed the call for investment and collaboration in gas exploration and development between the two countries, stressing that it would be a major milestone in the relationship between the two countries.
In addition, he welcomed the proposal for cooperation between the diplomatic institute of the ministry of foreign affairs of Qatar and the Foreign Service Academy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria.
He assured the Permanent Secretary that Qatar is ready to provide training for Nigerian diplomats.
To achieve this, he said the head of the diplomatic institute will meet with the Nigerian side and agree on the terms and develop a framework to actualize set objectives.
According to him, the programme will involve the training of Nigerian diplomats in the Qatari Diplomatic Institute in Doha and the provision of manpower and other needed assistance to the Nigerian Foreign Service Academy.
The permanent secretary was accompanied to the meeting by the Nigerian Ambassador to the State of Qatar, His Excellency, Yakubu Abdullahi Ahmed and the Head of Chancery, Mr. Kimiebi Ebienfa.
In January this year, President Buhari conferred Aduda, with the title of ambassador in-situ, a diplomatic official of the highest rank sent by one country as its long-term representative to another, in recognition of his selfless service to nation-building.
Aduda is a graduate of the University of Jos where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Geography and Planning. He also holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Ibadan and a Post Graduate Certificate in Corruption Studies from the University of Hong Kong.
Before his resumption at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he served as a Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (Political & Economic Affairs Office)
He has over 22 years experience in the public and private sectors, where he anchored and implemented key initiatives within the civil and public service, including the restructuring of the Federal Civil Service and the reclassification of sports from recreation to business, thereby opening doors for greater private sector investments in the industry.
In addition, he has undertaken consultancy and project management works with various international organisations, including the World Bank, European Union, and others in the areas of advocacy for social action, public financial management, democracy and good governance.
