Zoe Maritime Breakfast Meeting: Experts urged FG to create Gas Ministry

Some expert in Lagos has urged the Federal Government to established Ministry of Gas for maximum utilisation of Gas in Nigeria's Blue Economy.

The expert said this in a communique after the Maritime Business Roundtable Breakfast Meeting on Maximizing the Utilisation of Gas in Nigeria's Blue Economy held in Lagos.

The CEO, Dateline energy, Mr Wilson Opuwei, emphasised on the use of gas in the coastal communities.

Opuwei said that the Nigerian gas market, which was to be bigger than the crude oil should be giving a sector to enable government utilise all the benefit.

He pleaded with government to create an enabling environment for the gas sector to thrive adding that effective utilisation of the gas sector if created would provide over 6.5 million jobs or more

Opuwei said that there were challenges and opportunities in the process of extracting, processing and usage on daily bases.

He added that practitioners needs incentives as well as government solid support to aid the steps and ways of actualising, processing gas, for commercialisation, utilisation and exploit which is possibly part of the foreign currency earner of Nigeria economy.

Another panelists, Admiral Superintendent, Naval Dockyard Ltd, Rare Admiral, Abolaji Orederu, explained the kind of infrastructure in the maritime industry to make building of such gas carriers a common reality in Nigeria.

He explained that the issue of infrastructure is a major problem to utilize the gas in Nigeria Blue Economy.

Orederu said that there was need to consider water front facility while building a coastal barge because of launching into water which was not common.

"The few water front facilities we have are used for different things, the technical capacity is what we have to improve upon.

"We need certifications, we have people who have a lot of competence but without certification.

" In terms of equipments, we need high position equipments for dockyards. One major issue of infrastructure is that some are capital intensive.

"Certification is beyond our regular education, when you come to performing certain specific duties you need some kind of certifications.

"Certifications are renewable in any other time to show that you are still in tune with global best practices.

" We have classification societies that also come to vet the work, when the certification is there, it is given a global standard." Oreduru said.

The Rear Admiral Hamza Ibrahim, Admiralty Maritime services Ltd, revealed some major importance of gas.

According to him, "gas is playing the role of the soul in the value chain of ship design, construction and general functioning of the shipyard in Nigeria, without which, there is nothing you can do to power your equipment.

Ibrahim said that gas was a soul to any shipyard adding that gas was necessary for wedging, dockyard or any ship maintenance facility to run your industrial filtration system.

"Gas is needed for domestic purposes. Actively, I.M.O is looking at reducing the sulfur content of the normal fuel we use and thereby creating a new thinking of using gas driven engines to drive our shipping industry.

"Gas is naturally quite essential for any maintenance facility because it is like the soul; the energy you require to drive a lot of processes.

Also speaking at the Round table meeting, Dr Ubani Nkaginieme, President, Total Support Energies Group, "the maritime industry is a big participant and there was need for the industry to be safe for any solution to make sense.

Nkaginieme said that for proper utilisation of the Gas for Blue Economy that it has to be sustainable, well maintained, cause-effective, and it has to be reliable and available.

He said that the associated gas that was displayed adding that for it to create a business, that there was need to have a supply and project delivery assurance.

He emphasized on the importance of putting things in place to drive the gas agenda, by forming a strong lobby groups to reach out to the policy makers, and to those that determine things to be done in the country.

Nkaginieme called for significance of a standard regulatory frameworks and policy making to facilitate the gas utilisation Nigeria Blue Economy.

The convener, Mrs Oritsematosan Edodo-Emore, expressed her pleasure in organising an event like this and having notable people in the industry sharing ideas on how we should move different aspects of the Nigerian economy forward and especially the Blue Economy industry.

Edodo-Emore noted that the establishment of the ministry of marine and blue economy gives Nigeria the driving force to strictly focus on the maritime industry and earnest every advantage.

She further said it is important to determine what energy should be in the blue economy,such energy must be clean,accessible, available, sustainable and must be efficient.

Also speaking, the President of Women in Shipping and Trading Association, (WISTA), Mrs Eunice Ezeoke, urged the Federal Government to create a level playing ground for Public Private Partnership to invest in the gas sector to utilise the benefit.

She said that diversifying into gas as means of energy would improve on power usage and gas would be affordable for citizens.

The stakeholder in Blue Economy sector at the business roundtable meeting organized by Zoe Maritime Resources Ltd., emphasized the need for political will, clearer gas policies and laws, while also suggesting the creation of a distinct Federal Ministry of Gas to expedite the sector’s growth.