Nigeria’s federal government has inaugurated a Joint Decarbonisation Working Group for the oil and gas sector, reaffirming its commitment to end routine gas flaring by 2030 while positioning natural gas as the country’s transition fuel for industrial growth.

“Natural gas remains Nigeria’s transition fuel and our objective under the Renewed Hope Agenda is clear,” said Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo, describing the group as a coordinated platform bringing together government institutions, regulators, industry operators and development partners. “Decarbonisation has become far more than an environmental obligation. It is now an economic imperative, an investment imperative and a competitiveness imperative,” he said, adding that no developing nation should have to choose between poverty reduction and environmental protection.

National Council on Climate Change director general Tenioye Majekodunmi called methane emissions reduction one of the fastest, most cost-effective ways to improve Nigeria’s environmental performance while strengthening its oil and gas industry’s competitiveness. “Continued gas flaring is, quite simply, like setting fire to a bank vault full of money,” she said, pointing to the Nigeria Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme as central to the country’s strategy alongside advanced leak detection, satellite monitoring and stronger reporting systems.

House Committee on Climate Change and Security chairman Kama Nkemkanma described decarbonisation as a chance to modernise Nigeria’s oil and gas industry rather than a threat to it, while the Ministry of Petroleum Resources said the new working group would strengthen investor confidence and help Nigeria continue harnessing its hydrocarbon resources responsibly.

Source: (arise.tv)