Mr Mahmut Sami Saka is the Export Manager of Beta Transformer. In this interview with AYO OLA at the Nigeria Energy Exhibition and Conference, in Lagos, Nigeria, he explains how the products of his company can assist address energy challenges and sundry issues in the energy sector. Excerpts:
May we know the services of your company?
To introduce ourselves briefly, we, as BETA Transformer, produce energy for the future. Our mission statement “we produce happiness with our energy” shows us how important our work actually is. To explain as follows; We have been manufacturing transformers since 1989. We have 33 years experience. We produce dry, oil and power transformers from 25kva to 100MVA. As one of Turkey’s official R&D centers, we have independent accredited laboratories in our campus in the Industrial Zone of Adana. We export 60% of the products that we produce abroad and currently export to 42 countries. Our aim is to increase both the technology we use and the number of employment in our structure, which we will expand with new investments, and to provide energy to more countries.
How can your service help to address the energy needs of Nigeria?
We are planning to solve the problems caused by the high population in Nigeria and the lack of access to electricity, with the transformers we produce. We aim to help the development of regions that will have uninterrupted electricity with the provision of infrastructures. Our aim is to turn Nigeria’s natural resources into an advantage and to meet the demands for electricity with timely and high-quality sustainable products. We serve our energy to Nigeria with our partner & sole agent of BETA transformer in Nigeria, the Divine Point INVESTMENT LTD.
In your opinion, how do you rate the energy available to Nigeria?
We make most of our exports to African countries. As Beta, we continue to operate in Africa with our factory in Benin since 2019. As we have mentioned before, Nigeria is one of the countries with the greatest export potential with its excess natural resources and, on the contrary, insufficient energy supply. Nigeria, which is among the top 15 countries in the world in crude oil production, ranks 6th in terms of oil exports. Nigeria has vast reserves of natural gas as well as oil. However, as in oil, the country’s resources cannot be used fully in natural gas production. The fact that the natural resources of the country, which is especially rich in oil and natural gas, cannot be brought into the economy, although it has very important opportunities in terms of agriculture. The most important problems that Nigeria has to deal with are not making sufficient investments in agriculture and not providing support for years after the discovery of oil are among. On the other hand, oil and gas sales accounted for 92 per cent of the country’s exports of approximately $48 billion in 2015. However, when we look at the imports, it is seen that 15% of the imports are energy imports.
Why is it that Nigeria still lack substantial access to power?
Nigeria is rich not only in agricultural opportunities, oil and natural gas, but also in minerals and minerals, but these are not sufficiently included in the economy. Energy, which is of primary importance in the development and welfare of countries, has recently become one of the most strategic issues. While energy policies deal with issues such as safe access of energy resources to international markets, supply and pricing in the short term, they should include development plans and policies in the long term. The interaction of nations with their citizens and environment affects the future of that nation. The intensification of certain patterns of production, exploitation and consumption has been observed to intensify environmental damage and the associated patterns of social inequality.
As an expert, what are the solutions?
With the pandemic, we have seen that we need to expand the fields and processes of economic and social institutions and policies, where nature, not human, dominates, and the future and natural resources are not neglected. Ecological problems, which were initially perceived as air and water pollution, have been understood in many dimensions over time, from the depletion of natural resources to desertification, from the depletion of the ozone layer to nuclear energy and climate change. The causes of these problems are explained by the industrial community and the process of building sustainable societies with ecological solutions. Environmental problems are now on the global political agenda, their causes and possible causes are discussed at the meetings of world economy giants, and solutions to crises such as social inequality and climate change.
How did your country overcome its energy challenges?
Turkey, which is among the countries with the highest growth after China in the world, has been faced with very intense energy demand in recent years. Turkey, which is quite inadequate in terms of fossil resources, is 73% foreign-dependent in energy. As it can be understood from here, our country has not completely overcome this problem. Although studies have been made for this, it is not sufficient. Because the increase in demand is increasing day by day as well as other countries. The increase in the use of domestic and renewable energy sources is one of the biggest factors that will reduce foreign dependency. Our country, which has great potential in terms of wind, solar, geothermal and water power, also has significant coal and lignite reserves. We need to evaluate these potentials with adequate and appropriate technologies. Besides, we must use our current energy in the most efficient way with new technologies.
Renewable energy appears to be the major focus of many countries now. Why is this so? – What are the advantages of renewable energy?
Renewable energy is defined as an inexhaustible energy source that can be present the next day in nature’s own motion. Its biggest features can be defined as being environmentally friendly by reducing carbon emissions. The main renewable energy sources are wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, bioenergy, plant residues, and ocean energy. With Renewable Energy Resources, foreign dependency on energy production is reduced. In addition, renewable energy helps increase energy efficiency and reduces air pollution. In addition, it reduces carbon emissions and provides an environmentally friendly energy consumption. Compared to other energy systems, they are easily installable systems as they do not require high technology, and they are a very economical energy solution in the long term as they provide lifetime use. Thanks to Renewable Energy Resources, you can save on bills by providing the heat and electricity you need; You can make a profit by selling the energy surplus. Thanks to all these benefits, the use of renewable energy sources, which have become cheaper with increasing technology and awareness, has become the focus of many countries today.
With this quest for renewable energy, does it mean that other forms of energy are no longer usable?
In the 21st century, global warming has taken its place in the scientific community as a universal problem. Along with global warming, climate change, extinction of species and increase in population have led to the extinction of nature as well as poverty in the globalizing world. Along with global warming, climate change, extinction of species and increase in population have led to the extinction of nature as well as poverty in the globalizing world. Industrialization, urbanization, fossil fuels, oil, coal, natural gas burning and various industrial activities from human-induced activities contribute to global warming and represent climate change in the long run. The inability to process the crude oil in Nigeria adequately and the fact that it is condemned to energy revenues affects the majority of the people and workplaces.
Nigeria’s contributions to greenhouse gas emissions are mainly due to inefficient methods of using non-renewable energy sources and survival strategies adopted by its large population to increase the series of structural and systemic inefficiencies that characterize the energy sector. This preoccupation with the non-renewable resource wealth oil renders the economy unable to benefit from other forms of resource development. The growing challenge of globalization and natural resource insecurity is essential. This includes technological progress and environmental degradation associated with the extraction of natural resources.
Therefore, the concept of different cultural values and natural resources and their uses can be contradictory in the full application of the resource curse around the world. The Nigerian economy must move away from its dependence on revenue from oil production in order to exist in the future.
Economic diversification will not only combat the economic collapse in global markets but also help alleviate Nigeria’s unemployment problem, increase consumer spending, stimulate investors and prevent many other social problems. Although there will be no problem in terms of reserves in oil and natural gas supply for the next few decades, issues such as the exploration, production and delivery of new reserves to consumers seem to continue to be the main problem areas affecting international relations.