LEICA 2023: Dr. Wisdom Enang Advocates for a Just Energy Transition for Nigeria.
*** Wins a Prestigious Award of Excellence
SAMPSON ENYONGEKERE, Uyo
A renowned and resourceful Global Energy Expert, Engr. (Dr.) Wisdom Patrick Enang, has consciously advocated for a just Energy Transition from fossil fuel to the much-talked-about renewable energy like solar and hydro, for Nigeria.
The shrewd Oil and Gas Consultant made the plea on Thursday, April 13, at Four Points By Sheraton Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, venue of the Lawyers in Energy International Conference and Awards (L.E.I.C.A) 2023.
The two-day event themed “Economic Development and Sustainability of the African Energy Industry: Emerging and Evolving Concepts, Regulations and Opportunities”, lasted between Wednesday April 12 and Thursday April 13, with other notable experts and industry leaders in attendance.
Speaking alongside other industry leaders like Mr. Victor Okoronkwo (Managing Director of Aiteo), Mrs. Iroghama Ogbeifun (Managing Director of Starz Investment), amongst others, on the topic, “Africa Energy Demand: Efficiency and Availability”,
Dr. Wisdom Enang, who is an Adjutant Professor of the North Dakota University, USA, said that fossil fuels provides 80% of the world’s energy, and are undoubtedly the energy foundation upon which global societies function.
Dr. Enang stressed that a sudden change in the composition of that foundation could potentially destabilize the global economy, and key elements of modern society. He also emphasized that energy transformation is shaped by a much broader and fundamental shift in terms of prosperity, progress, politics and the environment, and listed decarbonization as one of the cornerstone of the huge transition.
The Bath University, United Kingdom trained Mechanical Engineer maintained that the ongoing transformation does not only concern and apply to the energy sector, or to the change from one fuel source to another, or merely a technological leap, as it was much broader, reflecting a change and transformation in terms of values and the way the world around us is understood, nowadays.
Dr. Enang further explained that the great transition features a gradual breakaway from the older core values of security, reliability, and robustness which existing energy systems were built upon, to new values of sustainability, flexibility and affordability which are enabled by a completely new way of producing, delivering and consuming energy.
He however stressed that this does not necessarily mean that the older frame of values will become obsolete or irrelevant anytime soon, but that the centre of weight was definitely rebalancing itself.
Dr. Wisdom Enang, who is both a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE) and the Nigerian Institution of Safety Engineers (FNISafetyE), emphasized that the clarion call for decarbonization was apt and comes sequel to critical global drivers, such as the Paris Agreement, Consumer Energy Needs and investor activism.
He revealed that the Paris Agreement signed in 2015 established a global framework to prevent dangerous climate change, by limiting global warming to well below 2°C, and pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.
These goals he intimated, are set against the backdrop of several scientific findings such as that of the National Academy of Sciences, which concluded in a 2015 study that it is possible that some extreme weather events such as heat waves and droughts could be attributed to changing climate, due to global warming.
The Chairman, Board of Trustees of the BBC praised “Sarah Enang Humanitarian Foundation” averred that the consciousness for responsible energy exploitation has also been taken seriously by investors like Black Rock, the world’s largest fund manager with about $7 trillion (USD) of assets under management, who in 2020 declared, that “climate risk is investment risk”, and stated that the group will be selling their direct investment in companies which derives more than 25% of their revenues from thermal coal.
“While Black Rock’s strategy made headlines due to the fund’s size and influence, other investors were also pressuring companies to take more action on climate change”, he claimed.
He informed, that to enviornmentally conscious investors, a competitive portfolio will no longer be solely determined by its breakeven price, but also by its environmental impact, affirming that another noteworthy driver was the quest for higher flexibility, convenience and cleanliness of energy services demanded by customers, especially as income rises.
Dr. Wisdom Enang, who consults for a number of international and local energy companies, said that achieving a commercially attractive energy transition in Nigeria, will depend heavily on the use of existing oil and gas infrastructure which runs into billions of dollars in investment, and is adaptable, reliable and affordable. He explained that it will be a missed opportunity to not plan for the role of these already existing infrastructure in the Nigerian energy systems of the future.
Known for his massive advocacy for value-driven leadership, Dr. Wisdom Enang highlighted therefore, that the efficient repurposing of existing infrastructure remains a key imperative for decarbonizing the Nigerian energy sector in the most cost-effective approach, and maintained that the task of controlling energy related carbon emissions, as daunting as it may appear from today’s perspective, may in fact turn out to be less obstructive if indeed an acceleration of long-term structural change trends is called for, rather than a departure in an entirely new direction.
Hear him: “Substantial acceleration of decarbonization would thus entail both ambitious technological and policy levers. Policy declarations such as the “Nigerian Decade of Gas”, is a positive step in the right direction, as the exploitation of gas avails us with a more efficient and cleaner source of energy, compared to liquid petroleum.”
Dr. Enang, a fully registered and accredited Chartered Engineer with the British Engineering Council, explained that large scale decarbonization of the oil and gas sector to a near-zero target would be extremely difficult to achieve anywhere in the world, as there are very limited commercially viable options.
Other speakers who spoke during Dr. Enang’s panel discussion session include: Mr. Isreal Aye, a partner at Commercial and Energy Practice (CANDELP) as well as a Director at Aspen Energy Nigeria; Mrs. Raqeebah Oloko, Managing Solicitor of Bromshy Legal (An Energy Consultancy Legal Firm known for its exceptional legal Advice on Energy Transactions in Africa); Mrs. Iroghama Ogbeifun, Managing Director, Starz Investments Company Ltd and Mr. Victor Okoronkwo, Managing Director, Aiteo. Mr. Okoronkwo is also the Group Managing Director of Aiteo Exploration and Production Ltd, Nigeria’s foremost independent oil and gas company.
The highpoint of the event was the conferment of a prestigious Award of Excellence on Dr. Wisdom Enang, “for his numerous and highly valuable contributions to the development of the Nigerian Oil and Gas sector, which has helped shape the industry more positively”, Mr. Isreal Aye confessed, while conferring the Award on Dr. Enang.
IBOM VOICE MEDIA 