From Uche Usim, Abuja
Early bird delegates arriving Abuja on Sunday ahead of the 5th Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2022) commencing today, were shocked at long, chaotic queues of vehicles at filling stations, struggling to buy petrol as scarcity bites harder in various parts of the country.
Daily Sun gathered that as the delegates made way to their hotels from the airport, many of them felt disappointed seeing frustrated motorists detained in long queues that stretched several metres. More discomforting for them was the fact that the petrol scarcity imbroglio had persisted for over a month without any solution in sight. One of the delegates who did not want his name in print said: “This is terrible. We’ve read about this crisis for over a month and one is worried that the challenge is not over yet. There is a need for permanent solution to Nigeria’s energy crisis because it affecting the local economies. A solution is needed and quickly too”, he said.
Meanwhile over 5,000 participants from 53 countries are billed to attend the event slated for February 27-March 3, 2022.
The NIES is a Federal Government of Nigeria official energy industry event with the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and all its parastatals including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NURPC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) and Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) as joint hosts.
According to the Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, the opening ceremony and award dinner will take place at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa Abuja, while the plenary sessions and exhibitions will happen at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja.
He added that major deals are expected to be sealed at the summit.
“The theme of the summit, “Revitalising the Industry: Future Fuels and Energy Transition”. Our objective is to drive a new narrative and make energy transition the cornerstone of the country’s industry policy.
“The event producers, Brevity Anderson, are leveraging on the successes of the past four editions of the event to make NIES 2022 bigger, better.
“Some of our confirmed international guests include The Honourable Minister of Energy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, who will be represented by Dr Nasser AlDossary. Others are Tom Alweendo, Minister of Mines and Energy, Namibia, H.E Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, Equatorial Guinea and Aime Ngoy Mukena, Minister of Hydrocarbons, Democratic Republic of Congo. The global energy leader and the Secretary General of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Dr Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo has also confirmed his attendance”, Sylva explained.
He added that key international and indigenous companies like Shell Petroleum & Development Company Limited, Total Exploration & Production, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, Dangote Refinery, Waltersmith Petroman and a host of others used the summit platform for special presentations to drive their aspirations and launch major projects.