- SPE Nigeria urges the Federal Government and industry operators to implement key recommendations from NAICE 2024 to boost energy security.
- Chairman Salahudeen Tahir stresses the need for innovation in the midstream and downstream sectors to enhance efficiency and attract upstream investments.
The Society for Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria has urged the Federal Government and industry operators to act on the recently concluded Nigeria Annual International Conference & Exhibition (NAICE) 2024 recommendations. This call was made by Salahudeen Tahir, the Chairman of the SPE Nigerian Council, during a media briefing at the end of the conference.
Tahir highlighted that the conference successfully identified critical gaps and proposed solutions to enhance energy security in Nigeria, focusing on the midstream and downstream petroleum sectors. He stressed the importance of adopting innovations and technologies to ensure Nigerians a cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient energy supply. Tahir announced that a communiqué would soon be issued, alongside five others from previous conferences over the past five years.
“To ensure sustainability, it is necessary to optimise the petroleum industry value chain, and the development of the midstream and downstream sectors is crucial for achieving this optimisation,” Tahir stated. He elaborated that the midstream sector encompasses transportation, storage, and wholesale marketing of crude oil and natural gas. In contrast, the downstream sector deals with refining crude oil into various petroleum products and distributing them to end consumers.
Tahir emphasised that investments in the upstream sector become ineffective without a robust and efficient midstream and downstream industry. “Our God-given natural resources will remain in their raw state without a vibrant midstream and downstream sector,” he added.
According to Tahir, optimising these sectors is essential for attracting investments upstream, achieving operational efficiency across the value chain, and cost-effectively meeting market demands. This optimisation facilitates the smooth flow of resources, maximises the value of hydrocarbons, and ensures a reliable supply of petroleum products to consumers.
In his remarks, Tahir also praised the President of SPE International, Terry Palisch, for his presence at the conference. He noted that SPE is the leading professional association for petroleum industry practitioners globally, with over 127,000 members across 145 countries. SPE has more than 15,000 paid members in Nigeria, including student members, spread across five sections: Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri, Benin, Abuja, and 47 vibrant student chapters.