From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja
In order to mitigate the impacts of climate change from industrial processes,the Federal Government through the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) is set to unveil a Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS),
centre of Excellent in Nigeria.
Director General of the agency, Dr. Abdulrazaq Garba made this known at the pre-lunch meeting with stakeholders,in Abuja.
Dr Garba explained that the centre would come up with a regulatory framework within the value chain to forster an enabling environment for the development of CCUS technologies in the country.
The Centre will contribute to the formulation of the legal and regulatory framework in collaboration of stakeholders within the value chain in order to create an enabling environment for the development of CCUS technologies 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, fostering collaboration among researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers in the CCUS domain
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 nation through the creation of employments.
“Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA)’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 impacts of climate change and for the attainment of net zero targets 2060.