Ejiro Grey, director of governance and sustainability at Sahara Group has said that backward integration in the energy sector will promote growth and sustainability through enhanced efficiencies, innovation, and local participation.
She noted that backward integration in the energy industry will encourage host communities’ cooperation in operations along the entire value chain while speaking at the just completed Nigeria International Energy Summit in Abuja.
Grey continued by saying that increasing local capability for the extraction and processing of natural resources will promote economic expansion and the development of jobs.
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Speaking during a panel session on the theme “Local Content Investment and Sustainable Energy Future”, she said, “Backward integration helps to reduce the cost of raw materials, providing a more stable and predictable supply chain that presents opportunities for growth and self-sufficiency in the oil and gas sector. This is arguably one of the best ways of developing and enhancing local expertise and sustainability in the sector.”
According to Gray, the sector needs to work on developing policies that prioritize the development of local capacity and offer incentives for backward integration.
Story adapted from Punch
