In a bid to make gas accessible and highly affordable to Nigerians, the Federal Government has inaugurated a $150 million ultra-modern steel pipe mill owned by SCC.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, President Muhammadu Buhari said that the establishment of the company was a great milestone in a collective effort in promoting and increasing local content in the oil and gas sector of the economy. It would also fast track effort at transferring technology and technical capacity to Nigerian engineers and artisans as well as conserve the much needed foreign exchange.
According to the President, “I have always believed that it is only companies that have total faith in the capacity of an economy to grow and excel in mutual prosperity that will embark on such major investment like iron, pipes, steel, even in a situation of inadequate raw materials and energy supply as it is in this country.
“In the face of our increasing demand for steel pipes which today stands at 1.2 million tons annually, the SCC pipes mill is expected to provide close to 10% of the nation’s oil and gas pipe demands which is about 100,000 tons annually.
“I will therefore commend SCC in this regard because having started operations two years ago with only fifty expertise staff, today you have about 250 Nigerians employ in the pipe factory with only four expatriates
“Therefore, the government will continue to promote and protect such investments and all other effort aim at achieving industrial growth and social economic development by creating enabling environment and regularly putting in place policy measures which will safeguard local investment by banning imported products that are at times below quality,” Buhari noted.