Stories by Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
Nigeria and the Canadian Province of Alberta have taken steps to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the gas sector, with a focus on energy transition, emissions reduction and capacity development.
This came to the fore when the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, held bilateral discussions with Alberta’s Minister of Energy and Minerals, Brian Jean, in Calgary, Canada, a statement by Ekpo’s spokesman, Louis Ibah, said.
During the meeting, Ekpo reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to leveraging its over 215 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven natural gas reserves as a transition fuel to drive economic growth, enhance energy security and support lower-carbon development.
“Nigeria is positioning natural gas as the cornerstone of its energy transition and seeks strong global partnerships to advance cleaner production and emissions reduction,” Ekpo said.
On his part, Jean highlighted Alberta’s progress in emissions management, including carbon capture and methane reduction initiatives, and expressed the province’s readiness to support Nigeria through technical cooperation, knowledge sharing and capacity development.
Both parties identified opportunities for collaboration in carbon capture, methane emissions reduction, gas monetisation and human capital development.
The meeting concluded with an agreement to establish a joint technical working group, develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering key areas of cooperation, facilitate technical exchanges on carbon capture and emissions reduction.
It will also promote academic and capacity-building partnerships, and explore broader collaboration in petrochemicals and energy industrialisation.