Oil & Energy
Renewable Energy Can Create 300,000 Jobs For Nigeria – ICAN … Add $7.4bn Annual GDP
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has appraised the country’s renewable energy sector, saying it has the potential to create 300,000 jobs and contribute $7.4bn annually to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2030.
ICAN’s President, Mallam Haruna Nma Yahaya, who spoke at the Institute’s 8th Southern Zonal Conference held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, further noted that aligning the country’s policies with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals(SGG), particularly Goals 7, 12, and 13, could unlock more than $1trillion in market opportunities for Africa by 2030.
Appreciating the Government of Rivers State for its hospitality, Yahaya said, “The renewable energy sector alone has the potential to create over 300,000 jobs and contribute $7.4 billion annually to our GDP by 2030 if properly harnessed.
“Moreover, aligning our policies with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goals 7, 12, and 13, could unlock more than $1 trillion in market opportunities for Africa by 2030. Eco-disruption, therefore, is not merely a challenge; it is also an invitation to innovation and leadership.
“As chartered accountants, we occupy a unique position at the intersection of finance, governance, and sustainability. We are called to champion the sustainability agenda through improved environmental accounting, sustainability reporting, and innovative green financing mechanisms.
“We can lead the way by promoting ESG disclosures and adopting the International Sustainability Standards Board frameworks, ensuring that our businesses and institutions not only comply with global requirements but also contribute meaningfully to sustainable development”.
Yahaya explained that integrating climate resilience into budgeting and incentivising eco-friendly investments would allow Nigeria to build a low-carbon economy while attracting green financing and stimulating growth in climate-smart sectors.
“Furthermore, by promoting public-private partnerships for green infrastructure, we can help the nation achieve its Net-Zero Energy Transition Plan”, he stated.
He encouraged all members to join the ICAN ESG and Sustainability Faculty to equip themselves with the requisite knowledge and competence to navigate the evolving landscape of environmental, social, and governance reporting, to position the professionals for leadership in the emerging global green economy.
In his keynote address, the Administrator of Rivers State, Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd.), said Nigeria’s sustainability challenges could be overcome by aligning applicable principles of accounting ethics and environmental stewardship.
The administrator indicated that by investing in green skills, civic engagement and being accountable, not only in financial deficits but ecological practices, Nigeria could build a nation that thrived within the global entity.
Expatiating on the theme, “Eco-Disruption and Sustainability Challenges: The Way Forward”, the administrator, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Ibibia Lucky Worika, stressed that the topic was timely, especially against the background of recent changes in the world environment.
He said, “Our world is changing. Climate change, deforestation, pollution, and unsustainable consumption patterns are no longer abstract concerns. They are here, disrupting ecosystems, economies, and everyday life from the rising flood waters of the Niger Delta to the advancing desert sands in the north.
“Accountants and Eco-Disruption are an unlikely but vital alliance. It is not every day that you see a room full of accountants discussing eco-disruption. After all, when we think of accountants, we picture balance sheets, not biodiversity; ledgers, not lagoons; profit margins, not mangrove swamps. And yet, here we are about climate change with people whose natural habitat is the spreadsheet.
“I must say, if the planet knew its fate was being discussed by accountants, it might feel strangely reassured or start worrying about whether we are about to amortise the ozone layer.
“But in truth, your role in this conversation is critical. Because sustainable development is not only about planting trees, it’s about restructuring systems. It’s about applying logic, measurement, discipline, and ethics to our collective footprint. These are things accountants excel at”.
Highlighting the negative effects of eco-disruption in the Niger Delta, he said: “In the Niger Delta, where we are gathered today, the evidence is stark: coastal erosion and sea-level rise are threatening entire communities.
“Biodiversity is in decline, with mangrove forests and aquatic life under siege from oil pollution and invasive species. Rainfall patterns are shifting, compromising agriculture, food systems and freshwater supplies.
“Oil spills, bush burning, and deforestation continue to erode environmental health and human livelihoods. These disruptions not only threaten our environment, they destabilise our economy, our security and our very identity as a people.”
Ibas also stressed that strategies to develop effective policy towards environmental stewardship must change to ensure institutional reforms in cognisance of socio-economic, environmental and human sustainability.
He said, “The four pillars of environmental, economic, social, and human sustainability must now guide our policy choices and institutional reforms. We must move from extractive to regenerative systems.
“We must rethink how we produce, consume, and account for the value we create, not just in financial terms, but in ecological and social impact as well.
“Strengthen environmental governance and community engagement, support clean energy with targeted fiscal policies and green financing, promote afforestation and mangrove restoration, integrate sustainability into educational curricula and professional ethics, including accounting practices and invest in data, transparency and inclusive planning at all levels of government and industry”.
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Nigeria’s growing solar market will take centre stage as the Renewable Energy Forum Africa (REFA) 2026 holds in Lagos on November 25-26 with the backing of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
Organised by the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA) and supported by SolarPower Europe, the forum would bring together investors, developers, regulators, utilities and policymakers at the Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel, Victoria Island.
The agency said the forum would strengthen partnerships, attract investment and support Nigeria’s clean energy and local manufacturing ambitions.
REA Managing Director, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, is billed to deliver the keynote address at the opening plenary.
The forum would also examine local manufacturing following the launch of Nigeria’s first privately owned 100MW solar module assembly plant in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
The event would also feature B2B meetings, an exhibition and the AFSIA Awards on November 25.
It would be noted that Nigeria is West Africa’s leading solar market, with about 618MWp operational capacity, ranking first in the region and eighth in Africa, according to AFSIA.
The country also leads the continent in mini-grid capacity with 132MWp, while its commercial and industrial (C&I) solar capacity stands at 385MWp.
The market is receiving fresh support through the $750m World Bank-backed Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme, targeting 1,350 mini-grids and electricity access for 17.5 million Nigerians.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has appointed eight pre-shipment inspection agents to monitor crude oil and gas exports, alongside two monitoring and evaluation agents to oversee their activities.
The appointments, announced in a notice signed by Aderinola Shonekan, Director of the CBN’s Trade and Exchange Department, took effect on October 2, 2026, under the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme.
The notice directs authorised dealer banks, the Nigeria Customs Service, petroleum regulators, terminal operators and oil and gas companies to comply with the revised arrangements.
The CBN assigned the eight inspection agents to specific crude oil and gas export terminals as part of the revised framework.
The allocations are as follows:
Dakee Engineering and Construction Ltd.: LNG, Escravos (Gas), Bonny River Terminal (BRT) and EGTL.
Trexem Energy Services Limited: Egina, Qua-Iboe and Tulja. Geoscape Limited: Escravos, ERHA, Odudu and FSO Cawthorne.
617 Limited: Bonga, Brass, Usan and Eagle.Robinson International Energy Ltd.: Ugo-Cha, Penington, Aje, Ima, Oyo and Nembe. Trobell International Nigeria Limited: Forcados, Bonny and Okwori.
Integrated Shipping Services Nigeria Ltd.: Akpo, Antan, Okoro, Anyala-Madu and Ebok.
Kephren Business Ltd.: Ukpokiti, Utapate, Yoho, Abo, Agbami, Ajapa, Okono, Okwok and additional marginal streams designated by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The CBN also appointed two monitoring and evaluation agents, the Q&Q Control Services Limited and the Arlington Securitas Nigeria Limited to oversee the inspection companies.
The Q&Q Control Services Ltd. would monitor 617 Limited, Trexem Energy Services Limited, Geoscape Limited and Kephren Business Ltd while the Arlington Securitas Nigeria Limited would monitor Dakee Engineering and Construction Ltd., Trobell International Nigeria Limited, Robinson International Energy Ltd. and Integrated Shipping Services Nigeria Ltd.
The latest appointments follow previous changes to the CBN’s monitoring arrangements for crude oil and gas exports.
The latest changes update the companies responsible for inspecting export cargoes and the terminals assigned to them. The notice requires the relevant institutions and operators to comply with the new allocations from October 2, 2026.
The appointments also come amid growth in Nigeria’s gas export earnings.
According to the CBN, Nigeria’s gas export earnings rose to $2.53 billion in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting stronger earnings from the country’s natural gas sector and contributing to its external trade position.
The revised inspection arrangements place designated agents in charge of specified export terminals, while the monitoring and evaluation companies oversee the inspection agents’ activities under the scheme.
Recall that in May 2024, the apex bank appointed 11 pre-shipment inspection and monitoring agents under the export supervision scheme.
The government subsequently reviewed the allocation of oil export terminals in March 2025, assigning additional terminals to nine inspection agents appointed under the scheme.
In July 2026, the CBN also appointed Candid Oil Services Limited as the pre-shipment inspection agent for the Taurus Oil and Gas Depot.
The Iran war and the lack of LNG supply from the Middle East have upended forecasts of near-term natural gas demand and import costs.
So far this year, economies in Europe and Asia have relied more on renewables and coal for power generation to offset reduced gas supplies procured at very high prices.
This year’s crisis has prompted governments to rethink energy policies with energy security the top priority, again, after the 2022-2023 energy crisis.
After the decline in global gas demand this year, due to prices at four-year highs, the obvious question for gas market participants is where demand is going after the current crisis ends. Has the second gas crisis in four years permanently undermined expectations of long-term gas demand growth?
Gas cannot be replaced in many industrial processes, yet. Electricity-generating systems in major economies that have relied on gas for power cannot have a reliable electricity supply without gas.
Still, this year and over the past four years, key gas markets in Europe and Asia have seen the share of gas in their electricity mix decline.
The UK, the Netherlands, and Turkey, and major Asian economies China, Japan, and South Korea, have all seen the share of gas-fired electricity drop, according to data from think tank Ember cited by Reuters columnist Gavin Maguire.
The spike in natural gas prices has accelerated Europe’s renewables rollout, which took off in earnest earlier this decade when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and cut off pipeline gas supply to most of Europe. The share of renewables has surged in the EU and the UK in recent years, gradually sidelining gas as the reliable backup fuel rather than the one meeting growing electricity demand.
Globally, “Gas is losing its share in the global power mix as renewables increasingly meet rising electricity demand,” Ember said in a report earlier this year. The analysis found that the share of gas in the global power mix declined for the fifth consecutive year in 2025, despite a small rise in absolute gas generation. Strong growth in clean power, led by solar and wind, met around 68% of global electricity demand growth over the five years to 2025, reducing the need for a significant rise in gas power generation
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According to Ember, 61 out of 124 economies generating electricity from gas had passed their gas generation peak.
However, these countries accounted for around one-fifth of global gas-fired electricity generation in 2025. So the large gas-generating economies, albeit a smaller group, haven’t seen their peak in gas power generation.
The biggest emerging economies, China, India, and Brazil, have actually met their surging electricity demand without turning to gas, Ember noted.
China’s gas share remained close to 3% of the electricity mix in 2025 despite rapid demand growth, while gas power generation in India and Brazil plays a more limited balancing role, the think tank said.
“The economics and energy security case for electricity are increasingly moving in the same direction,” said Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, ?Senior Electricity Analyst at Ember.
“As renewables lower costs and reduce exposure to fuel price shocks and geopolitical disruptions, gas is steadily losing the advantages that once made it the default fuel for power system growth.”
The writing may have been on the wall for natural gas producers and exporters if natural gas was only used in power generation.
But natural gas key uses include as feedstock in industrial manufacturing, including cement and steel, as a chemical feedstock for fertilizer, or as the start of the supply chain of manufacturing plastics, paints, synthetic fabrics, and medicine, to name a few.
And then comes the biggest twist in energy and electricity demand forecasts in recent years—the AI boom. Data centers will drive a large part of the rise in global electricity demand, which has returned to growth even in the U.S. and Europe after a decade or so of flatlining. Renewable energy alone will not meet the surge in power demand, and gas will play a key role in America and in most of Asia, where many countries are positioning to become AI and data center hubs.
The biggest LNG producers, exporters, and traders see long-term gas demand growth intact despite this year’s supply shock that is reducing consumption amid spiking prices.
For example, Shell, the world’s biggest LNG trader, said in its annual LNG Outlook 2026 this summer that surging gas demand in South and Southeast Asia would push global LNG demand up by 65% by 2050 from 2025 levels, although growth this year has been stalled by the Strait of Hormuz crisis.
Shell sees global LNG demand increasing to nearly 700 million tons annually by 2050, up by around 65% from the 2025 levels of 422 million tons.
“The conflict created a system-wide shock with disruption cascading across all segments of the economy, but the LNG industry has proved resilient and able to adapt to changing market conditions,” Cederic Cremers, President of Integrated Gas at Shell, commented in the outlook.
“While more investment in both supply and demand infrastructure is needed, the long-term outlook remains strong and LNG will continue to be a stabilising force in the global energy system.”
The International Gas Union (IGU) said in its 2026 World LNG Report in July that “while LNG industry is not immune from the challenges of operating in an era of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, its unique ability to re-distribute large quantities of clean-burning energy from a broadening supply base only enhance LNG’s role as a ‘shock absorber’ to the global economy.”
By; Tsvetana Paraskova
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