By Adewale Sanyaolu

As the world faces its worst energy crisis, evidenced by rising cost of gas, the Group General Manager of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Mr. Bala Wunti, has blamed the global drive to achieve a net zero emission future buoyed by stringent Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) requirements and activist investors for being responsible for the price surge.

Wunti stated this in his lead presentation at the Society for Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Lagos Section Annual Technical Symposium held yesterday, on the theme, “Operationalising the Petroleum Industry Act – An Opportunity for Revolutionising Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry.”

Several factors are fueling the price surge in natural gas and commodities such as oil and coal more generally.

Related News

According to CNBC, demand is rebounding as economies get back to business and consumers return to pre-pandemic activities. At the same time, producers, who suffered through 2020’s unprecedented downturn, have been slow to hike output.

This was even as NAPIMS GGM said the operationalisation of the PIA will bring about certainty, competitiveness and cost optimization in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

The PIA which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on August 16 is targeted at reforming the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. It is also aimed at promoting transparency and attracting capital flows into the oil and gas industry.

Wunti gave an overview of the major issues impacting the oil and gas industry, stating that tremendous progress had been made in tackling the issue of security and cost.