The Federal Government has been tasked by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with creating new technologies, enhancing human potential, and fostering innovation to fulfill the world’s expanding energy needs.
To meet energy demands, the global oil sector will need to invest a total of 11.8 trillion US dollars in the upstream, midstream, and downstream by 2045, according to OPEC.
This was said by Dr. Mohammad Barkindo, Secretary-General of OPEC, in his keynote speech on Tuesday at the official inauguration of the ongoing 21st NOG Conference and Exhibition in Abuja.
“Funding the Nigerian Energy Mix for Sustainable Economic Growth” is the conference’s theme.
According to Barkindo, implementing new technology and making consistent investments will reduce Nigeria’s overall environmental impact and increase access for marginalized communities.
“I am convinced that the Petroleum Industry Act’s implementation will assist our petroleum industry reach its full potential, improve its capacity to draw long-term investment, and sustain a vibrant and diverse economy.
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“It is crucial that our National Oil Companies (NOCs) have consistent and unrestricted access to investment finance if they are to continue to develop and thrive.
“Our sector depends on consistent, adequate investment levels. If we’re going to create new technologies, build up our human potential, and keep up our position as innovation leaders, it’s imperative,” he said.
The industry is currently experiencing enormous problems on numerous fronts, which are endangering investment potential both now and in the long run, according to the secretary-general of OPEC.
The oil and gas business is under attack, to put it frankly!
The continued COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the changing geopolitical landscape in Eastern Europe, and global inflationary pressures have all combined to cause major volatility and uncertainty in the commodity and energy markets.
Several industrialized nations and international organizations “continue to implement strict policies targeted at expediting the energy transition and fundamentally altering the energy mix against this backdrop,” Barkindo said.
According to him, the industry has experienced two significant cycles in a relatively short period: the severe market downturn in 2015 and 2016 and the much more significant effects of the COVID-19 epidemic.
He referred to 2020, the first year of the pandemic, as one of the darkest eras in the history of oil, with an almost 30% decline in upstream oil capital spending.
He claimed that this was greater than the enormous yearly drops of 26% that were seen during the harsh industrial slump in 2015 and 2016.
According to him, the OPEC also predicted that between now and 2045, the world’s overall demand for primary energy would rise by a sizable 28%.
He predicts that oil would continue to make up the greatest portion of the energy mix in 2045, with a share of just over 28%, followed by gas at around 24%.
In other words, he predicted that oil and gas will supply more than half of the world’s energy requirements for many years to come.
“These hydrocarbons are particularly important to the energy mix in areas like Africa, where there will be significant population movements and economic expansion in the coming years.
“These events highlight how urgent it is to end energy poverty.
The effects of the two main market cycles are already becoming apparent, he claimed.
