Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr Mele Kyari, has described Spain as an important market for Nigeria’s energy market.
Speaking when he visited the European nation alongside President Muhammadu Buhari last week, he said “26 per cent of all Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) produced in Nigeria ends up in Spain. 14 per cent of all crude oil produced in Nigeria ends up in this country. Clearly for us as a business, it is an important market for my company.”
While addressing Nigerian and Spanish business leaders on investment opportunities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, he explained that the world would need energy for today and for the future in industries such as power, information technology, automobiles, etc.
“We know that energy transition is real. We know that net-zero by 2050-2060 is real. But it doesn’t mean zero hydrocarbons in 2050-2060. It means that you are going to have a cleaner use of hydrocarbons,” Mr Kyari added.
He said investors must see where their money can come out from and when they invest, they must see that they can recover their cost and make some margin from it.
“In our country today, we have legislation that has clearly created a commercial National Oil Company which our President will unveil in the coming days. Together with the Spanish business community, I am confident we can build this industry,” Mr Kyari concluded.
During the visit, President Buhari reiterated his commitment to sustaining the strategic energy partnership between Nigeria and Spain.
President Buhari had earlier met with the Spanish President, Mr Pedro Sanchez, and the King of Spain, His Majesty, King Filipe VI, and gave a speech at the World Tourism Organization (WTO) headquarters in Madrid.
Mr Buhari said Nigeria looks forward to increasing bilateral relations with Spain, even as he signed bilateral agreements and Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with the Spanish leader, covering areas of prisoner transfer, sports and culture and the economy.
