By Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme
Christel Kvalvik, Managing Director, Equinor Nigeria Limited has said that Africa’s Energy Transition journey may look different compared to Europe and the United States.
Speaking at the virtual Africa Energy Series 2021, organized by Global Event Partners, Christel noted that the investment climate in Sub-Saharan Africa will continue to be important both within the oil, gas, and renewables.
She said Equinor believes that gas will play a significant role in Energy Transition in Africa. But, there are two concerns.
“Gas is more complicated than oil and it depends on the strong collaboration between the industry and the government.
“Gas is used at a different part of the world and not everyone sees gas as clean energy. There is a job to do in creating the understanding that the Energy Transition journey may look differently in Africa”.
She further explained that Equinor is currently building its business folio around renewable energy, adding that the company has launched a new structure for its international portfolio that includes an African cluster which will allow Equinor to build a more holistic and innovative strategy for the African region.
She added, “As an energy company, Equinor wants to be at the forefront taking on these challenges.
“Last year, we launched our ambition of becoming a net-zero company by 2050. This includes both emissions from production and energy use.
“We have developed three pillars to become a net-zero company by 2050. We will achieve it by upgrading our portfolios and focusing on abasement measures.
“In our new climate roadmap, we have also introduced the ambition to have a carbon-neutral global operation by 2030.
“This means by that time, the remaining emissions from our oil and gas operations will be compensated by nature-based solutions.
“We are working very closely with the Norwegian government, suppliers, and with various industry stakeholders. There are a lot of things going on to reduce our carbon footprint in our operations”.