President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed that Nigeria is a step closer to achieving the country’s dream of fully utilizing its abundant gas potential.
This disclosure was made by the president on Tuesday at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, during the commissioning of an Integrated Gas Handling Facility built and operated by Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, an upstream subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), in Oredo, Edo State.
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The gas project, which is the largest onshore LPG plant in Nigeria, has the potential of supplying about 20% of Nigeria’s LPG demand.
The president pointed out that the Oredo Integrated Gas Handling Facility and its associated NGLs depot would be delivering 240,000 metric tons of commercial-grade Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Propane. This is also as the facility would deliver about 205 million standard cubic feet per day of lean gas to the domestic market.
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What the president is saying
He said, “In addition to its import substitution benefits that brings us a step closer to self-sufficiency in LPG production and also supporting the growth of small and medium enterprises in the host communities, this project will create hundreds of direct and indirect employment opportunities for our teeming youths (both skilled and unskilled).
“Apart from being the largest onshore LPG plant in Nigeria with the potential of supplying about 20 per cent of Nigeria’s LPG demand, the Oredo Integrated Gas Handling Facility was carefully situated at a corridor proximate to more than 80 per cent of Nigeria’s LPG demand source,” he added.
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President Buhari reiterated that the gas project was a follow-up to the administration’s commitment towards making 2020 Nigeria’s Year of the Gas.
Going further, Buhari said, “At the turn of the year 2020, this administration made solemn declarations to the Nigerian public over its plans to expand the gas sector footprints by scaling-up the development and utilisation of Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources.
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“To help spur industrialisation, provide clean and efficient energy for transportation and household use while increasing our exports into the international market. It is on the backdrop of this commitment that the Year 2020 was dedicated and embodied as Nigeria’s Year of Gas.
“Since then, we have followed through with actions that have translated those plans into tangible projects with monumental value additions to the Nigerian Economy. We accomplished key gas infrastructure projects like the OB3 and ELPS 2 and flagged-off the Construction Phase of the 614 km AKK Pipeline Project.”
What this means for Nigeria
- This gas project will be a huge boost for the Federal Government’s drive towards providing alternative and cheaper fuel for vehicles, under the National Gas Expansion Programme Initiative.
- This also highlights the commitment of NNPC to eliminate gas flares while increasing Nigeria’s value realization from gas.
