Africa should reposition the energy industry for the future and become much more efficient with its energy resources, according to the Chief Executive Officer, Seplat Energy Plc, Mr. Roger Brown.
The Seplat Energy CEO stated this at the opening ceremony of the ongoing 41st Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) International Conference and Exhibition, in Lagos, where he delivered a stakeholder contribution to the theme “Repositioning the Oil & Gas Industry for Future Energy Dynamics”.
Urging African countries to accept the fact that energy has a key role to play in the future of the continent, he noted that the integration of the energy value chain was essential for the continent’s anticipated progress.
“Repositioning the oil and gas sector for the future requires the understanding of certain fundamentals including accepting the fact that the sector will have a key role to play well into the future – particularly in Africa; that the energy industry needs to become much more efficient with its resources; and that the integration of the energy value chain is essential,” Brown said.
He further stated that, “A functioning energy backbone (Base load) is a barrier to wide-scale renewable energy. In all these, we must come to terms with the fact that Development and Environment must not become competing objectives,” while adding that energy was critical to the region’s economic and social development.
According to industry data, more than 600 million Africans have no access to energy; more than 900 million Africans do not have access to clean cooking (with eight per cent energy access in rural West Africa); and fewer than half of the utilities in sub-Saharan Africa recover their operating costs.
Every year, the 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa (combined population approximately 1 billion)
reportedly generate roughly the same energy as Spain (with a population of approximately 45 million)
