The NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Bar, revealed that Chinese banks had made commitments to invest as much money as might be needed to finance oil and gas projects in Nigeria.
He made this disclosure when a delegation of the Nigerian Gas Association led by its President, Engr. Dada Thomas, paid him a courtesy visit yesterday, in Abuja.
The GMD while recalling the recent financing agreements signed in London wherein, for the first time, the Chinese contributed $250m towards the projects, reiterated NNPC’s commitment to the development of the Gas Industry.
The GMD said that the recent debt settlement for the Joint Ventures would have great impact on the Gas Industry as the initiative was capable of freeing some dedicated funds that could be used to develop the sector.
He added that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has unveiled plan to expand gas generation and distribution nationwide to support the Federal government’s aim to increase power generation to 10GW.
We have the aspiration of government to raise power generation to at least 10 giga watts capacity, not just 10GW in terms of installed capacity, but one that will be steady in the grid by 2020. All these will drive our activities to ensure that the gas business is expanded and government’s aspiration to earn as much revenue from gas as oil will definitely be realized, Dr Baru stated.
The GMD stated that as part of its commitment towards developing the power sector, NNPC is currently making efforts to link the eastern part of the country, where there are a lot of gas reserves with the west, where high consumption demand exit.
He noted that a lot has been achieved in the contracting process of the $2.7billion Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano pipeline project, dubbed AKK Pipeline Project.
Dr Baru said NNPC would contribute towards the National Gas Policy recently adopted by the Federal Executive Council as well as the Fiscal Bills on gas being worked out by the legislature, with the view to reposition gas in Nigeria’s domestic energy mix.
According to him, NNPC was committed to seeing that the Ogidigben Gas Industrial City project, which is a project with potential to increase gas consumption in the country, come to fruition. He said what was remaining is getting the developer to bring in the various investors to put their industries in place.
He also applauded the inputs of the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) in developing the gas sector while admonishing the Association to extend its advocacy to the power sector being the major consumer of gas in the country.
Speaking during the visit, NGA President, Engr. Dada Thomas, applauded the GMD of NNPC for the remarkable initiatives that he had taken so far to turn around the fortunes of the Corporation and the country’s economy at large.
