The Seplat Energy Plc says Africa should reposition the energy industry for the future and become more efficient with its energy resources.

Seplat Energy urged African countries to accept the fact that energy has a key role to play in the future of the continent, saying the integration of the energy value chain is essential for the continent’s anticipated progress.

The Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy, Roger Brown, said this at the opening ceremony of the 41st Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) International Conference and Exhibition, which is ongoing in Lagos.

Brown said: “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.

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“Also, 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.”

He added that energy is 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) generate roughly the same energy as Spain (with a population of approximately 45 million).

Industry sources said five-fold increase in investment is required to reach United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 7 by 2030. There are 17 SDGs for Africa to achieve.

The Star