The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) have commenced moves to reduce carbon dioxide emission, and embrace the use of cleaner and safer sources of energy.
Speaking at the just concluded NLNG conference tagged: ‘Decade of Gas’ held in Abuja, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman, Managing Director, NPA, said the agency was aligning with the global discourse that reduction in the use of heavy hydrocarbons and increasing the use of liquefied natural gas in maritime transport could help reduce carbon dioxide emissions and other pollution arising from international trade.
Usman said that the move to reduce the use of carbon dioxide was a step in the right direction as NPA will join hands with other stakeholders to confront the challenges associated with climate change and air quality.
“With the expansion of opportunities in the sector and gas related investments and projects (eg. floating storage and regasification units, LNG bunkering floating platforms), there will, certainly, be more opportunities for Offshore Support Vessels(OVS) and the attendant economic benefits.
This is why we must strive to provide the enabling environment for productive operations, with international best practices in mind.
“Compliance is crucial to the handling of dangerous and hazardous goods and products (like gas). As a result, the NPA has strategically primed most of the reform initiatives to align with the impacts of global energy transition.
“Towards the end of last year, I signed a directive with strict timelines for full compliance with and enforcement of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) sulphur regulation on Nigerian waterways.
“The new regulations, known as IMO Sulphur Regulations 2020, mandate a maximum Sulphur content of 0.5 per cent in marine fuels globally. The driver of this change is the need to reduce the air pollution created in the shipping industry by reducing the Sulphur content of the fuels that ships use,” she said.
Source: VON