President Buhari pledges to deepen gas utilization for Nigeria’s economic growth

By Sebastine ObasiPresident Muhammadu Buhari yesterday pledged to deepen gas production and utilization in Nigeria to enhance economy growth of the nation

Speaking at the commissioning of the Integrated Gas Handling Facility, IGHF, and LPG storage and dispensing plants at Ologbo, in Oredo in Edo State, the President stated that his administration would not relent in its drive to use gas as a catalyst for sustainable economic development of Nigeria.

According to him: “At the beginning of 2020 we made a solemn declaration of scaling up gas utilization to develop the transport system, create jobs and other economic activities.” He explained that in the course of the year, substantial development has taken  place in the gas sector, as can be seen in the expansion of Escravos-Lagos gas pipeline, the OB3 gas pipeline and the Ajaokuta Kaduna –Kano gas pipeline, signing of final direct  investment( FDI) and the Oredo Integrated Gas Handling  facility.

According to Buhari, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) being commissioned at Ologbo in Edo state has the capacity to meet 80 percent of the nation’s  demand of the commodity.

Also speaking, the Group Managing Director, of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mele Kyari, stated that the conception and delivery of the project hinges principally on NNPC’s commitment to support national aspirations for increased domestic gas utilisation through delivery of lean gas for power generation, fuel and feedstocks to commercial customers/gas-based industries and enhance LPG utilization among Nigerian households to support energy efficiency and curtail environmental degradation.

He also explained that the key enablers for the realisation of the project are substantially anchored on the strategic vision of President Buhari’s administration that sets the growth of the gas sector as one of its cardinal priorities to help harness Nigeria’s abundant natural gas reserves to diversify Nigeria’s energy portfolio, accelerate economic growth and increase revenue generation capacity.

Speaking on the capacity of the project, he said, “This facility is constructed on two (2) plots – the Process/Cryogenic plant and the LPG/Propane Storage and Dispensing Plant. It has installed capacity to process about 200MMSCFD of wet gas to deliver about 85MMSCF of lean gas, 330 metric tons of LPG, 345 metric tons of propane and 3,400 barrels of pentene and stabilized condensate on a daily basis.

“The facility is equipped with eight (8) dispensing arms and storage capacities of 2,600 and 1,550 metric tons of LPG and propane respectively. “This translates into an average daily load out of 17 Trucks of LPG (20MT Cap); 22 Trucks of Propane (10MT Cap) and delivery of methane gas into ELPS that could generate the equivalent of 367MW of power per day.”

Kyari also stated that the project was designed and executed entirely by Nigerians, thus enhancing the local content policy of the Federal Government. With the commissioning of the project, NNPC participation in gas production is expected to grow substantially as the Nigeria Gas Company, NGC, is expected to be the number one gas supplier in the country.

“This demonstrates the capability of Nigerians in handling technically complex projects while reducing pressure on the Nation’s constrained foreign exchange. “Upon commissioning, this project will grow NNPC’s participation in the LPG value chain, boost domestic supply and help reduce prices while curtailing carbon footprint and deforestation and desertification,” he added.