Sylva highlights benefits of African Energy Bank to sustain hydrocarbon business in Africa

As Western nations shift focus and investments to renewable energy, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has called for urgent alliance of African oil producer to float an African Energy Bank to accelerate and sustain hydrocarbon business on the continent.

Sylva made the call while hosting the Minister of Hydrocarbons, Equatorial Guinea, Mr. Gabriel Lima, in Abuja, noting that said since Western nations were scaling down funding for hydrocarbon exploration across the world and focusing on renewable energies, setting up an African energy bank remains a viable way to neutralise the threat.

His admonition comes against the backdrop of declining global investment in the oil and gas sector by oil supermajors.

He said the call for the establishment of the bank is heightened by the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by Nigeria, stressing that the Act will open up the oil and gas sector for huge investments, going forward.

“The PIA is a watershed moment for us in Nigeria. This is the time for us to get out of Nigeria to market this investment environment. We must not go out of Africa to attract investments. We must set up structures to fund our system.

“If we insist on the exploration of our oil and gas reserves when the world is cutting down on investments in the sector, we must set a financial institution, an African energy bank, to develop the oil and gas sector.

“If we go into more exploration in Africa, we will find more oil and gas and must we leave it under the ground because the other countries are racing for renewable energy? We must find a way to explore it and that’s why we need an energy bank along the line of the African Development Bank (AfDB),” he emphasised.

While calling for synergy among African nations, the minister noted that no country in the world would help Africa develop aside Africans themselves and therefore called for unity among nations in the continent.

“None of us can grow without each other. It is not all the time that we run to Europe or America or elsewhere for support. We need to keep talking and we need mutual cooperation to solve our own problem. We can achieve this under the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO),” he added.

The Minister emphasised the urgent need for African countries under APPO to come together to work out a more realistic timetable for energy transition for the continent.

He urged African leaders to close ranks through a solid platform to resist the clamour for sudden transition from hydrocarbon to renewable energies, and called for research into African problems and fully explore the huge potential in the continent.

In his remarks, Lima, applauded the historic passage of the PIA and noted that with the passage of the law, the country was ready for serious business in the oil and gas sector of the economy.

He advised on the need for Africa to strengthen the South-south cooperation, stressing that Africa should not always expect to find solutions to its problems in Europe and America.

Lima said he was in Nigeria to follow up on an earlier engagement between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea as well as explore other areas where both countries can partner.