Nigeria's Race to Clean Energy - A Long Game

As a child, I had 2 career ambitions; 1. To work in the oil and gas industry, 2. To get an educational degree from an Ivy League school.

I grew up in the oil city, Port-Harcourt, Nigeria- and my family home was a 5 mins walking distance from the Shell Petroleum Development Company industrial Area (SPDC - IA); This strategic placement gave my desire a reality boost that far outweighed pictures on a clipboard #visionboards.

Fast forward many years after, I strategically applied for admission into the university of Port-Harcourt to study geology. The deal was sealed! I had laid the foundation for my path into the oil industry. In my 3rd year at Uni, I got a placement for a 3-month Internship at SPDC - Drilling Well Engineering Department. This was as oily and as gassy as it could get! I was elated about this opportunity as it was following the right trajectory. Looking back now, I’m quite impressed with little Ijeoma! She played a long game indeed, with focus and consistency.?

18 years after, I’m still in the oil and gas industry. I have experienced all sides of it, the backend, frontend, fringes, sideline, service, centre, you name it! I’ve been there, done that and gotten the t-shirt – more like coveralls and hardhat!

I entered into the season to smash my ambition 2, and realised that my ambition 1 was on shaky grounds! In January 2023, I embarked on a journey to get an executive MBA at Sa?d Business School, University of Oxford .

It didn’t take me long to come to the full realization that on the global market, oil (and gas) is now being treated like illicit goods! If you aren’t speaking clean energy, sustainable and renewable energy, then you are like a villain in a fast-paced movie!

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Now when I speak about my industry outside of Nigeria, it’s as though I almost have to sound apologetic. It gets really bad, like in instances where Oil and gas money is being treated as though it were drug money. One day while in Oxford, I ran into a dear classmate who was headed out, kitted as though she was going hiking. I asked where she was off to, and she explained that she has headed to join a protest against the business school for accepting a donation from an individual whose source of wealth was questionable because it was gotten from oil and gas. I quickly bade her farewell -before she would ask me to join the protest. I suspect she would never really know the real reason for the shocked look on my face (of course except she reads this and realizes it was that encounter with her.. lol).

To be clear, I understand the enormous negative impact that oil has had on the atmosphere on both a National and global scale! There have been decades of carbon emissions and other harmful gases destroying the ozone layer and causing extreme climate challenges that the entire world is currently grappling with.?

More so, the pains of oil exploration and exploitation in Nigeria are even more tangible with the infamous historic oil spills in the Niger Delta region responsible for untold sickness, deformities and even increased mortality rates. What of the current curious case of floating soothe speculatively linked to illegal bunkering of oil in the Rivers State region and environs, possibly causing lung and respiratory diseases and other health issues? Finally, the disenfranchisement of the people caused directly by the consequences of oil exploitation in these regions is considered responsible for the rise of militant insurgencies, piracy and political instability as unintended consequences of the oil exploitation saga.?

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You see, I am very aware of the very negative impact of this oil business, and I am fully in support of a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable world for us all! I am 100% in support of a transition into more sustainable ways of generating energy so that we have a world that we and our generation unborn can enjoy.

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I am a firm believer that the renewable elements of the earth have sufficient capacity to generate energy for us humans without us endangering the earth itself.?

I believe that gas is a key player in the future of energy because it is clean(er) and is in abundance; so the sooner we as a country tap into the full potential of our abundant gas, the better for all.

I believe in the power of the sun to light up my city Lagos and our Nation. We have an excess supply of sun – It’s summer all year round in Nigeria, so why not??

I believe in hydro energy. Nigeria is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and we have the more prominent rivers Niger and Benue within our borders.

I believe in generating energy via wind. I don’t know so much about this technology but I can imagine that significant advancement has been made in various parts of the world, which we can adopt and deploy too. I am confident of wind supply in Nigeria because our beautiful ladies with luscious flowing locks are always wary of strong winds in these parts of the world- lol – If you don’t get it, then forget about it. :-)

I believe in generating energy through biomass. The ability to convert waste into energy to power manufacturing and processing machines and plants is just phenomenal! The benefits of utilizing biofuels are innumerable. Reduction in waste pollution, reduction in the cost of disposing wastes, reduction in the cost of power generation etc!

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But that said, how are we – Nigeria, Africa- ?supposed to arrive at this amazing state of clean energy overnight?

Surely the world understands that there are structures, financial resources, policies, sensitization and adaptation plans amongst numerous other factors that have to be put in place before we can completely and successfully adopt clean energy. It takes time. Like my journey to ambition 1, It’s a long game.

But a game that we have to play all the same. Where do we start in addressing this wicked problem? Whom are the stakeholders needed at the table? What are the significant events that would drive these transition discussions to the front burners? What patterns in the existing system do we need to observe? What are the underlying structures that are upholding the existing oil and gas system? What is the underlying mental model that upholds and that has sustained the entire industry and systems for all these years??

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The end of the matter is that any energy transition would take decades. Other major global energy transitions—from wood to coal to oil, have taken 50 to 60 years. The current move to natural gas will also take a really long time.

That said, these discussions must be had; and are already being had in many quarters and on various levels. One of which is the SPE Lagos Section 61 technical lecture - Building a resilient and profitable energy future for Lagos: Oil and Gas as an enabler in celebration of their 50th anniversary (Registration details on my profile). This is very commendable.

?In conclusion, for Nigeria to transition into this future of safer, cleaner and more sustainable energy, we have to start asking the right questions; ?What policies have to be adopted - both on a National and Organization level - to hasten the rise of renewables? What strategies must be adopted by governments and institutions towards funding research into renewable energy technologies? When do we stop the subsidies for traditional fossil fuel products to ensure that their prices reflect the environmental, social and health costs imposed by these energy sources? What roadmap shall we adopt in improving energy efficiency in our country even while going through this transition?

It is not my intention to have either you or i answer all these questions, rather I seek to drive an introspective thought process, a discussion and perhaps an action that could advance our journey in the right direction.

Ijeoma Miriam Nwakuche