Energy experts at a workshop on Methane Recovery and Power Integration in Nigeria have called on the Federal Government to adopt a strategic framework aimed at converting methane emissions into energy resources capable of supporting 4.2 million households annually.
The experts said Nigeria faced a “climate-energy paradox,” noting that methane emissions across the country’s rice fields, oil and gas facilities, and coal mining sector were being wasted despite widespread energy poverty.
Methane is a colourless, odourless gas made up of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms.
The workshop was held on Friday at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, under the EU-ECOWAS-sponsored and British Council-administered Postgraduate Energy Planning and Management Programme.
The experts, in a communiqué issued at the workshop, noted that satellite-derived estimates using TROPOMI Sentinel-5P data showed the country’s actual methane emissions were between 1.3 and 3.6 times higher than figures contained in current national inventories.
