NGSA To Unveil CCUS Center To Mitigate Climate Change

To mitigate the impact of climate change from industrial processes, the Federal Government through the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) is set to unveil a Centre of Excellence in Nigeria.

Director General of the Agency, Dr. Abdulrazaq Garba made this known at a pre-launch meeting with stakeholders in Abuja.

Dr Garba explained that the centre would come up with a regulatory framework within the value chain to foster an enabling environment for the development of Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technology in Nigeria.

“The Centre will contribute to the formulation of a legal regulatory framework in collaboration with stakeholders within the value chain to create an enabling environment for the development of CCUS technology in Nigeria. It will be designed to involve community engagement and support economic investment in CCUS” he stated.

He added that the Centre of Excellence would serve as a hub for the exchange of knowledge and expertise, both nationally and internationally.

“Our strength is in the Storage component of the CCUS value chain and therefore we are leveraging on that strength in the short and medium term to begin to do research within the already identified Hubs and work in more details by value addition to the already established work by Halliburton and to improve the integrity of the data in order to optimize some pilot projects”.

“The Centre of Excellence will serve as a hub for the exchange of knowledge and expertise, both nationally and internationally.

We are calling for the collaboration and support from all stakeholders, We want to develop our capacity in monitoring of storage reservoirs post-injection” Dr Garba stressed.

On his part, the Director, Hydro & Engineering Department and Coordinator of the Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage Center of Excellence in the Agency, Dr. Edwin Ocheni Ekwo
stated that Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) involves capturing carbon- dioxide emissions from industrial processes, utilizing the captured carbon for various purposes and storing the carbon in geological formations to prevent it from entering the atmosphere.

Dr. Ekwo who added that the agency has all the manpower needed for the project, stressed that the project is crucial at the moment as it would drive economic development of the nation through job creation.

“Nigerian Geological Survey Agency’s mission statement is to emerge as the ultimate referral point for geosciences information and knowledge using highly qualified and skilled professionals, cutting – edge technology, and in collaboration with stakeholders”.

“Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) involves capturing carbon dioxide emissions from industrial processes, utilizing the captured carbon for various purposes and storing the carbon in geological formations to prevent it from entering the atmosphere” he added.

Dr. Ekwo emphasized that the Strategy is crucial for the government to mitigate the impact of climate change and for attainment of net zero target 2060.

By Georgina Humphrey, Edited By Grace Namiji