The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has called on the U.S. Government to support the funding of natural gas development in Nigeria as an alternative source of energy to Europe.
This is as European countries are facing gas supply challenges due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Sylva who said this during a meeting with the US Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, on the sideline of the ongoing Ceraweek, in Houston Texas, disclosed that Nigeria has abundance of natural gas resources that can meet European gas demands noting that the problem has been accessing to funding.
A statement by the Senior Adviser, Media & Communications, to Minister of State for Petroleum Resource, Horatius Egua, quoted the Minister as saying the collaboration between the U.S and Nigeria in this area would be of immense benefits to both countries as well as the entire globe.
Sylva also disclosed that as part of efforts to boost gas supplies across the African continent, Nigeria has embarked upon the construction of 600 kilometers of the Ajaokuta- Kaduna- Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, designed to take gas to Europe through North Africa.
It said: “It is in the interests of the global community that there is an alternative supply of gas to Europe. The challenge for us to achieve this feat has been lack of infrastructure and we need funding to develop infrastructure for our gas, and we believe that the U.S can provide that funding.
“We have access to gas but access to funding has been the problem. We desire to be able to take gas from Nigeria through Algeria to Europe.
“We have already kickstarted the AKK gas pipeline project and if we have the required funding we can complete that project in two years.
“Nigeria has over 206 tcl of natural gas reserve and unproven reserve of 600 tcl. We believe that if we target the exploitation of natural gas in Nigeria, we will be able to get up to 600 tcl.
“We need to have the needed funding to develop our gas and the U.S can provide us this funding.”
In her remarks, Granholm expressed the readiness of the US to cooperate with Nigeria to develop its renewable energy sector, noting that the government was not against the development of gas or other sources of energy.
She added that the U.S government would be willing to support Nigeria in developing her renewable energy sources, and therefore called for a coordinated strategy to pin down specific areas of focus where funding and other supports would be required.
“Investors are interested in funding renewable energy in Nigeria but they are interested in knowing possible areas of focus. We have to work out a structured way to access the fund” Granholm noted.
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