Chairman, Seplat Energy Plc Dr. ABC Orjiako, has disclosed that Energy Transition can only be achieved in a collaborative manner leveraging technology and innovation.

Orjiakor spoke Milken Institute Global Conference themed, “Charting a New Course”. The Milken Institute Global Conference is an annual convening of global leaders in government, finance, health, academia, industry and philanthropy. At the global conference, Orjiako said, “We must develop a coordinated and coherent approach to energy transition with the specific needs of several geographies in consideration.”

He said: “Energy transition must be done in a collaborative manner where there must be a balance between net-zero/carbon neutrality and energy poverty in Africa and much of the developing world. To put this in context, Nigeria for example with a population of over 200 million people has installed grid capacity of 12,500 Mega Watts (MW), availability of grid power to the population is only 3,000 – 4,000MW. 25,000MW off-grid power is supplied by diesel generators. “Over 60 per cent of the population has no access to electricity and rely heavily on biomass and kerosene for cooking. The challenge remains: how do we prioritize a transition to renewables overnight without addressing the energy poverty that exists with the available fossil fuel. Nigeria cannot afford to not utilize its over 200Tcf of gas reserves in the bid to address the UN SDG7 as it pertains to universal energy access. This gas reserves will leapfrog the transition,” he said. On whether it is possible for oil price to go towards $100 per barrel (/bbl) given the recent demand surge and the scenario where coal plants cannot sustain demand in China for instance, he said, “It is a possibility that oil price will go beyond $100/bbl in the near term.”