Geometric Gas Shortage Resolved, Says Minister
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Epkerikpe Ekpo, has disclosed the ministry had resolved the challenges the 141 megawatts Geometric Power Plant in Aba, Abia State, was having with gas supply.
Ekpo made this known in his scorecard, a copy of which was made available to be said by his media aide, Louis Ibah.
Reports said that after the Geometric Power Plant was launched in February, there were complaints of inadequate gas supply, inhibiting its capacity to deliver power to its customers.
According to the minister, he supervised and ensured the resolution of gas supply issues at the Geometric Power Plant.
Ekpo also said he unblocked a $3bn investment in the gas sector by resolving issues relating to the execution of the Gas Sales, Purchase Agreement for the Brass Methanol Project.
The Brass Methanol Project, located on Brass Island in Bayelsa State, is sponsored by Brass Fertilizer & Petrochemical Company Limited.
The $3.8bn project is made up of a gas processing plant, and methanol production and refining plant, and product export facilities, among others.
In the scorecard, Ekpo noted that he had ensured a firm commitment to achieve net zero flare gas emissions, which had seen the NNPCL/TotalEnergies Joint Venture achieve zero routine gas flare in all its Nigerian assets while attracting increased investments by foreign and local firms into the gas sector.
The minister disclosed that he midwifed the reconstruction of the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund council and guidelines, “which is set to inject much-needed funds into resolving infrastructure issues in the gas sector”.
He also claimed that he hastened up the multi-billion-dollar Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano and the Obrikom, Obiafo, Oben gas pipeline projects to meet their completion deadlines.
He listed other achievements including driving bilateral discussions on the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project, which is to traverse the Republic of Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal, and Mauritania and terminate in Morocco with a spur to Spain for onward sale of gas to Europe.
He also mentioned that the ministry under his leadership, revitalised the virtual pipeline mode of natural gas delivery to power gas-based industries and the commercial sector; and launched a 23,000 metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas vessel, Temile 10, to transport LPG from producers to the domestic market.
Ekpo also recalled performing ground breaking ceremonies for the NesGas 50,000 metric tonnes LPG terminal at Onne, Rivers State;
the Optimera Energy Natural Gas facility in Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos; Windek Energy Limited 20,000 metric tonnes LPG depot in Atabrikang Aquaha, Ibeno LGA, Akwa Ibom State.
Those projects, he hinted, hold the prospect of generating over 100,000 jobs for Nigerians upon completion.
Under the gas-to-power initiative, Ekpo revealed that he had collaborated with the Ministry of Power to establish an inter-ministerial gas task force to address the challenges associated with low gas supply to gas-fired thermal power plants in the country.
The minister recounted that he pushed through the Decade of Gas to resolve legacy indebtedness to gas producers in the power sector.
To reduce the cost of cooking gas, Ekpo claimed he “supervised the domestication of all LPG produced within the country with the target of stabilising the price of LPG in the domestic market.”
Punch News/ Jamiu Ogunshe
