By Damilare Daniel
Fostering policy clarity, transparency and rule consistency will encourage investment and growth of the energy sector, the Chief Executive of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA!, Engr Farouk Ahmed has said.
Speaking at the 48th edition of the SPE’s Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) in Lagos, Ahmed argued that this is crucial considering the mobility of resources between jurisdictions and competing energy supply sources.
He reiterated NMDPRA’s commitment to supporting policy consistency and transparency through its carefully developed regulations and continuous stakeholder engagements.
He informed the gathering that NMDPRA invests heavily in technology, capacity optimization, efficiency and policy effectiveness in the delivery of its mandates.
He added: “We encourage operators to adopt intelligent systems for managing the operations and maintenance of critical infrastructures such as pipeline systems and bulk storage facilities, as well as tracking and managing emissions.”
Ahmed pledged that NMDPRA will continue to collaborate with other regulatory agencies, industry players, development partners, and societies like the SPE, to ensure that the petroleum industry remains sustainable, and continues to contribute to the development of the economy.
Opening his arms to cooperation and collaboration, Ahmed declared that the Authority will continue to welcome suggestions and feedback that will contribute to its continuous improvement in providing excellent service to the industry.
He held that the target of a sustainable energy future is within reach if all the stakeholders act together, innovate boldly, and govern wisely, adding, “As regulators, we reaffirm our commitment to enabling investment, fostering innovation, and ensuring sustainability across the midstream and downstream sector.”
The NMDPRA boss held that the theme of the conference and exhibition tagged, ‘Building a sustainable energy future: leveraging technology, supply chain, human resources and policy’ aptly reflects the strategic focus of the nation and the continent at large as stakeholders seek to achieve energy access that promotes economic development and sustainability.
Ahmed further argued that the global energy landscape continues to be impacted by strong forces of market volatility, geopolitical tensions, artificial intelligence, technological advancements, and carbon neutrality targets.
He added that building a sustainable energy future requires strategic planning, dedicated actions and continuous collaboration between all industry stakeholders.
Very importantly, the NMDPRA helmsman submitted that the energy future of Nigeria is a critical driver for the attainment of the ambitious goal of growing into a $1 trillion economy by the year 2030.
He noted that access to affordable and clean energy is required to catalyse the strategic growth of investment across Nigeria’s Industrial sectors and deepen the manufacturing and productive capacity of the economy.
Ahmed added: “Nigeria therefore needs to leverage relevant resources required to meet this energy demand target, in a sustainable and globally competitive manner. Technology is one of the most important resources to be harnessed in this regard. Technology presents both a challenge and an opportunity to the petroleum sector. Artificial intelligence, CCSU, hydrogen technology, energy storage, smart grid, biofuels and marine technologies, are amongst the areas that we should give special attention to.”
According to him, supply chain optimization is also an important area that requires coordinated actions, since sustainable energy depends on efficient delivery systems, saying, “This will include connected gas transportation and distribution lines, virtual pipelines, commodity exchange platforms, enhanced marine & land logistics, and liberalized markets.”
Ahmed further highlighted that human resources will continue to play critical roles across the value chain.
“It is therefore important that excellent capacity is built in all the segments of the industry considering the interdependence of operators, regulators, service providers and other support services,” he stated.
