The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday said it has signed two Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in China with Nigerian-Chinese consortia to build not less than ten large biofuels complexes across the country.
The move, according to a statement from NNPC, is aimed at developing sustainable biofuels in the country.
A statement from the NNPC quoted the group managing director, Dr. Maikanti Baru as saying that the execution of the MoUs would help develop the first biofuel production complex in the country. He also said that the development of not less than three other complexes would commence before the end of the year.
The statement signed by NNPC’s spokesperson, Ndu Ughamadu, stated that the signing ceremony was held at the Nigerian Embassy in Beijing on the sidelines of the ongoing Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit, yesterday.
The two separate MoUs were signed between NNPC and the OBAX-COMPLANT Consortium on one hand and NNPC and the CAPEGATE-NANNING Consortium on the other hand. Baru further explained that the MoUs signing was aimed at implementing the federal government’s mandate on clean, alternative and renewable energy programmes, particularly automotive biofuels production nationwide.
“The aspiration for the exploitation of renewable fuel resources in Nigeria is to implement our nationally determined contributions to the Paris Agreement; part of which requires the blending of 10 per cent by volume of fuel-ethanol in gasoline and 20 per cent by volume of biodiesel in automotive gas oil (diesel) for use in the transportation sector,” Baru stated.
He also explained that for a country like Nigeria with a daily consumption of over 65million litres of automotive fuels, it was easy to see that enormous volumes of fuel-ethanol and biodiesel would be needed to meet this obligation. According to the GMD, meeting and sustaining the target requires strategic investment in more than ten (10) large biofuels complexes across the country.
Baru, who noted that the execution of the two MoUs would help develop the first biofuel production complex in Nigeria, revealed that before the end of the year, the development of not less than three other complexes would commence in the country.
He said NNPC was poised to domesticating the alternative fuels production towards a thriving commercial Biofuels Industry which would not only create jobs and rural wealth for the populace but would also complement international efforts towards curbing global warming.
He described the renewable energy project as dear to the Muhammadu Buhari administration, saying that was why, shortly after assuming office as GMD, he made it one of the cardinal programmes of his corporate vision of 12 Business Focus Areas (BUFA).
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