Mohammed Shosanya
Ejiro Gray,the Director of Governance and Sustainability,Sahara Group says
it has earmarked $1billion for investments in the Nigeria’s gas sector.
She disclosure during a workshop with the Energy Correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday.
She reiterated that Nigeria has gas in abundance of the resource, remains a faster means of industrialization than any other renewable energy solution that we are trying to push forward.
She said:”Our energy transition strategy is heavily based on gas because we have the resources as a country and we must use it. It is a faster means of industrialization than any other renewable energy solution that we are trying to push forward”.
According to her,the company’s focus is getting gas to power plants, hence a lot of investments are going into development of logistics.
She said,once infrastructures to deliver gas to power plants is effectively achieved it will catalyse development of manufacturings, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
She said it is infrastructure that drives energy demand hence Africa needs to develop in the line and refrain from being over reliant on other economies.
She implored government at the highest level to create an enabling environment that would encourage investors who are willing to invest in oil and gas industry in the country.
She urged government to create incentives and enabling environment for access to funds for investors in the oil and gas industry in the country, stressing that lack of access to funds is part of the reasons investors are unwilling to commit their investments in the sector.
“If the investors have access to funds and they have the right incentives to support their investments they will be willing to, we not just talking about foreign investors but local, but they cannot do it without the government also de-risking the sector. They must create an enabling environment to encourage that investment. Without it, the risk will be too high, number one, the won’t even have access to funds, two, off taker risks, transactions risks”,she added