The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with Chinese consortia to develop sustainable biofuels in the country.
At a ceremony yesterday in Beijing on the sidelines of the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit, the two pacts were signed between NNPC and OBAX-COMPLANT Consortium on one hand, and another involving the oil agency and CAPEGATE-NANNING Consortium.
Speaking at the event that held at the Nigerian Embassy in the Chinese capital, NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, explained that the agreements were aimed at implementing the Federal Government’s mandate on clean, alternative and renewable energy programmes, particularly automotive biofuel 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 volume of biodiesel in automotive gas oil (diesel) for use in the transportation sector,” he clarified.
Baru added that for a country like Nigeria with a daily consumption of over 65 million 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 10 large biofuels complexes across the federation.Noting that the execution of the two MoUs would help develop the first biofuel production complex in the country, the NNPC boss revealed that before the end of the year, the development of not less than three other facilities would commence nationwide.
Baru described the renewable energy project as very dear to the Muhammadu Buhari administration.Responding on behalf of the CAPEGATE-NANNING Consortium, Chairman of the NANNING Board, Mr. Qin Chun Lin, said they look forward to a great partnership with the NNPC on biofuel production.
