Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) has signed an agreement with Geometric Power Aba Limited (GP) and Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN).
The agreement will enable the partners to support the 140 Megawatts Aba Integrated Power Project in Abia State.
By the agreement, Shell will supply gas from its joint venture gas plant in Imo River traversing Abia and Rivers States to the power producer, Geometric Power Aba Limited via a gas pipeline network which is already installed.
The Managing Director of SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor said the move is a further demonstration of the oil company’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s industrialisation through gas.
Okunbor, who was represented by SPDC’s General Manager, Business and Government Relations, Bashir Bello, noted that for more than 50 years, Shell has been in the forefront of the campaign to develop and monetise Nigeria’s huge gas resources and it is good to see more players joining the fray to grow the gas market and help improve lives and the earnings in Nigeria.
Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, described the Aba Independent Power Project as a potential catalyst for opening up the Aba market for economic growth.
Represented by his Special Adviser on Fiscal Strategy, Dr Tim Okon, the minister said the government was determined to ensure commercial sustainability of any such project with the potential to grow the gas market.
About the project
The Aba IPP is the first independent and integrated power utility in Nigeria, which comprises a 141 MW gas-fired power plant, a 27km gas pipeline, and a distribution utility, within a ring-fenced distribution network. It is an embedded electricity facility designed to generate and distribute its own electricity.
Meanwhile, Shell is the pioneer and leader of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. It has the largest acreage in the country from which it produces some 39 per cent of the nation’s oil.
