Decade of gas: Nigeria inaugurates committee to develop a roadmap

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, said he has inaugurated a three-level committee to help develop a roadmap for implementing a gas-powered economy in the county.

Sylva revealed this at the 4th Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) underway in Abuja on Thursday. The theme of the conference is “From crisis to opportunities, a new approach to the future of hydrocarbons” The minister specified that the committees include a committee of sponsors, a steering committee and a work team.

“From the feedback, I have received, the stakeholders and the Nigerian people fully support the government’s natural gas agenda and the quest to use the resources to turn the country around. “We cannot afford any delay and we have to strike the iron while it is hot.

“I want to believe that the roadmap and action plan to meet the expectations of a gas-fueled economy by 2030 drawn up from the previous meeting are part of the session’s agenda. “In this regard, I inaugurated on June 2 the three-level structures to develop this roadmap made up of a committee of sponsors, a. steering committee and a work team.

“The Sponsors Committee will be chaired by the Minister of State for Petroleum, the Director-General of the NNPC, the President of the Oil Producing Trade (OPTS), the Director-General of the NLNG, the Director of the Petroleum Resources Department (DPR) and a representative of the Minister of Finance as a member, ”he said.

According to him, a consultant will provide program and project management services across all three levels. He added that the final roadmap would be a combination of all the previous efforts and work of the ministry, NNPC, DPR, Nigeria Standards Organization (SON), NIPS, among others, and would be coordinated by the consultant in a consolidated report.

“I want to see a holistic roadmap and action plan that provides the appropriate leverage to move forward in achieving the decade of the gas vision. “The critical milestone that must be reached must be clearly indicated with short, medium and long term strategies. There should be defined and detailed activities, actions, timetables and shared responsibilities, ”he added.

He assured that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources was ready to play its role and carry out its shared responsibility. He noted that President Muhammadu Buhari had shown enough zeal to leave no doubt that his vision of using the country’s vast natural gas resources to lift Nigeria into the league of major industrialized countries during the next decade is not a question of rhetoric.

“I don’t expect everything about this trip to go smoothly, however, with the kind of determination that I have seen so far demonstrated by his administration on natural gas issues, he does. there is no challenge along the way that will be too difficult to overcome,” he added. (NAN)