NNPC GCEO,Kyari advocates academia-industry collaboration for sustainable energy development

Joy Agwunobi 

Mele Kyari, the group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), has  stressed the need for collaboration between the academic sector and the oil and gas industry to address the challenges of energy sufficiency and sustainability. 

Kyari noted that such collaboration would be crucial in meeting the global energy needs of today and the future, while also ensuring a sustainable and just energy transition for all. He also highlighted the importance of Africa’s role in meeting the global demand for energy, particularly in light of the region’s abundant natural resources.

The NNPC group CEO made the remark at the 2024 faculty lecture titled “Energy Security, Sustainability and Profitability in Nigeria: Advances, Challenges and Opportunities”, held at the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Osun State. 

Kyari emphasised the need for collaboration between the academic sector and the oil and gas industry to  safeguard national energy security through research. He also highlighted several challenges that are hampering energy security in Nigeria, including rapid population growth, pipeline vandalism, and crude oil theft.

To address these issues, the NNPC group CEO emphasised the importance of energy conservation, diversification, and efficiency as key strategies for addressing these challenges and enhancing energy security. Kyari also highlighted the importance of the urgent need to find sustainable solutions to meet Nigeria’s growing energy needs. He noted that taking action now would be critical for ensuring energy security for future generations To this end,he underscored the intensified competition for vital resources and urbanisation drive, which would lead to a doubling of Nigeria’s energy demand by 2050.

The GCEO of NNPC Ltd. further highlighted the negative impact of pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft on the company’s operations, noting that the establishment of a command-and-control centre has aided in detecting and destroying illegal refinery sites, as well as removing illegal connections, thus reducing vandalism since 2021. 

“The centre provides live streaming of surveillance data to security forces, contributing to the detection and destruction of over 5,686 Illegal Refinery (IR) sites and the removal of 4,480 Illegal Connections (ICs) from 2021 to the present,” he stated.

In order to address the severity of vandalism and oil theft, Kyari outlined a strategy that involves increased products trucking and storage in underground tankages at NNPC filling stations nationwide. Additionally, Kyari highlighted NNPC Ltd.’s expanded retail assets following the acquisition of OVH retail stations and associated downstream infrastructure in 2021, making the company the largest single downstream company in sub-Saharan Africa.

Kyari also pointed out that the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021 transformed NNPC Ltd. into a fully commercial limited liability energy company, adding  that the removal of fuel subsidies has allowed the company to play a more active role in the commercial sector.