New gas processing partnership to bridge projected shortfall in domestic supply—NNPC
The Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, has disclosed that the new Asa North/Ohaji South (ANOH) Gas Processing Company, a partnership between it and Seplat Petroleum Nigeria may bridge the estimated shortfall in domestic gas supply.
Otherwise, the domestic gas supply in Nigeria is set to increase by about 300 million standard cubic (MSCF) daily through the new scheme which was recently flagged off in Imo State.
Inaugurating the company in Abuja, Baru averred that “The project is an integral part of the Corporation’s Seven Critical Gas Development Project (7CGDP),” saying “the move was designed to bridge the estimated 3.4 billion cubic feet of gas per day shortfall, which could arise as demand increases to about 7bcf/d by 2020”.
While urging the new board members of the company to sustain the momentum by ensuring timely delivery of the project below projected budget without compromising the industry best practices of zero incidences, he noted that “We believe that a private sector driven project should deliver much faster, hence we came up with a structure outside the existing Joint Venture with the intent of getting the appropriate entities to participate in the project.’’
In his remarks shortly after the inauguration, the new Chairman of the Board, Saidu Mohammed, who also doubles as NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power, assured on delivery of the key targets of the scheme and stressed that “The initiative is the first unbundled midstream company, which will run on its own from a JV operation”.
Industry experts are upbeat that the scheme will further drive seamless domestic gas access and even drop in cost of cooking gas going forward.
