The General Manager, Corporate Services, NLNG, Ekeinde Ohiwerei, says Nigeria is 10 years behind in renewable energy adoption, adding that its energy sector emits 13.3 billion tons of gas yearly.
Mr Ohiwerei noted this during a panel discussion at the IoT West Africa Data Centre, Cloud Expo, Power and Water annual conference in Lagos on Wednesday.
The theme of the panel discussion was: “The Digital Revolution in Oil and Gas – Advancing Efficiency, Automation and Sustainability.”
Mr Ohiwerei stressed that the country was working hard to reduce emissions.
“We have some clear paths to reducing emissions: one is to control the emissions, the other is to reduce it.
“We also need a lot of work on climate change. We need to invest in things like gas streams and some other resources,’’ he said.
Mr Ohiwerei noted that there were opportunities to become smarter about electricity management, particularly in embedded infrastructure.
“The next 10 years will be crucial in shaping the future of renewable energy and Artificial Intelligence in sustainability in the nation.
“We have potential for significant progress in reducing emissions and promoting efficient energy use,” the NLNG boss said.
Mr Ohiwerei added that the footprints of renewable energy was sometimes not very apparent.
He noted that manufacturing was finding huge applications in both environmental and technological aspects of renewable energy.
Also speaking at the panel discussion, Alexey Ushakov, Business Development Manager, Cummins Inc., emphasised the need to control emissions and transition to sustainable fuels to mitigate environmental impact.
“My take on it will be, first of all, we need to control emissions,” he said.
Mr Ushakov said that his organisation embedded an emissions reduction strategy in its system in 2013, with a goal to achieve zero emissions by 2030.
He said: “We will be trying to control and reduce emissions to a minimum in 2030. And this emission zero, it’s called, we are going to zero emissions.”
He highlighted the importance of shifting from diesel engines to sustainable fuels like Hydrotreated Vegetable Oils (HVOs) and multi-fuel synthetic diesel engines, which produce fewer emissions.
Mr Ushakov noted that alternative technologies like batteries and solar panels had potential, but also posed challenges.
“The second way is much more, I would say, harder for us, for humanity because you need to always think backwards to produce this much of batteries and solar panels,” he said.
Mr Ushakov emphasised the need for a balanced approach, combining emission control with sustainable fuel solutions.
“We need to mix and blend all these two types and move forward,” he said.
Mr Ushakov also highlighted the role of analytics in finding solutions, saying “Analytics comes from the big data. The more data we use, the more ways we can figure it out.”
Other energy and technology sector experts on the panel highlighted the future of technology and sustainability in various industries, emphasising the importance of Artificial Intelligence, data analytics, and renewable energy.
They said that industries must work together to harness the potential of digital tools and sustainable practices to create a better future.
The experts’ discussion centred on how industries could leverage digital tools to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and promote sustainability.
NAN reports that the Conference and Exhibition will run from May 13 to May 15.
NAN
