By 
By Chinedu James
The Nigeria government is to adopt Methanol fuel technology to improve electricity supply and increase value propositions of country’s struggling chemical industry. Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu revealed this while inaugurating the Technical Committee on Methanol Fuel Technology Implementation Programme.
Onu while noting that Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources will be put to good use stated that the country’s adoption of this technology is fooling similar trends in other countries working to reduce dependency on fossil fuel.
The adoption of methanol would induce life into the industrial base of the country as chemicals would be generated by industries through its exploitation thereby providing employment, said Onu.
In addition, methanol will reduce the cost of fuel in the country as it is cheaper and environmentally friendly. He said the percentage of natural gas that is being flared in the country which poses a great health risk to the people living close to the environs of crude oil production can be harvested and converted into methanol for industries.
This, said Onu, will significantly boost electricity across the country, create wealth and employment opportunities as well as aid the production of fuel which will be at a reduced cost.
Onu tasked members of the committee to provide a workable blueprint for the implementation of methanol technology while consulting with relevant stakeholders within and outside the shores of the country in order to meet international standards.
Chairman of the committee and Director of Environmental Sciences and Technology Department, Peter Ekweozo thanked the minister for the opportunity to serve and assured that the committee will work assiduously to ensure the implementation of the technology.
