The European Union (EU) in partnership with the Federal Government has expressed renewed interest to put mechanisms in place to fund gas projects in Nigeria to guarantee energy security in Africa and Europe.
The EU disclosed this on Friday when the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipré Sylva, received the Deputy Director-General, EU Energy Platform Task-Force, Matthew Baldwin, in his office in Abuja.
The EU delegation’s visit to the Minister was the second in four months, and is also meeting with other key ministries with relevant roles to play in guaranteeing energy security.
The Minister said this development would hasten the desire of the EU to guarantee alternative gas to Russia’s.
He described the assistance, which covered security, technology development, financing and private sector investment as worthwhile because finally it had enabled Nigeria to be on the same page with the rest of the world.
Sylva, who was critical about the haste in which the EU and Western nations took out investment in fossil fuel, said in years to come fossil fuel would be very relevant while gas would be used as transition fuel.
He underscored the need for the EU to appeal to their financial institutions to be willing to relax stringent rules and remove bottlenecks around loans to enable sourcing of funds under conducive agreement.
“We have always said that we are committed to gas as a transition fuel and today we are speaking the same language with the EU.
“We are discussing with the EU on how to collaborate on developing technology and other support they can give to Nigeria. They are responsible for the policy that will drive the investment,” he said.
The EU assistance will cover security, technology development, financing and private sector investment.
On security, Sylva said it was another area of cooperation because they went to the Niger Delta region to see for themselves what the security situation was, adding that part of the solution itself also required technology.
He said the region would be secured for oil and gas investments to continue to thrive while production quota would be shored up.
As part of the intervention to curb insecurity in the region, he said there was a four-legged collaboration which involved the government, security agencies, oil companies and communities.
Baldwin had earlier reiterated the EU’s commitment to making the gas project a reality and expressed optimism for a sustainable partnership for energy transition in Nigeria.
“I am very pleased to be working with you in a big way to ensure private sector investment is guaranteed; the more the security situation can be improved in the Niger Delta region, the more investment we will see,” he said.
Ongoing AKK Gas Project and Trans Sahara Gas Pipelines (TSGP) project will present a huge opportunity for Nigeria and others to tap into the European markets. (NAN)
