The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Epkerikpe Ekpo, has disclosed that the ministry has resolved the challenges faced by the 141-megawatt Geometric Power Plant in Aba, Abia State, regarding gas supply.
Ekpo made this known in his ministerial scorecard, released to the media.
It is worth recalling that after the Geometric Power Plant’s launch in February, there were complaints about inadequate gas supply, hindering its ability to deliver power to its customers.
According to the minister, he oversaw and ensured the resolution of gas supply issues at the Geometric Power Plant.
Ekpo also stated that he unblocked a $3 billion investment in the gas sector by resolving issues related to the execution of the Gas Sales and Purchase Agreement for the Brass Methanol Project.
The Brass Methanol Project, located on Brass Island in Bayelsa State, is sponsored by Brass Fertiliser & Petrochemical Company Limited. The $3.8 billion project comprises a gas processing plant, a methanol production and refining plant, and product export facilities, among others.
In the scorecard, Ekpo noted that he had ensured a firm commitment to achieving 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 facilitated 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 expedited the multi-billion-dollar Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano and the Obrikom, Obiafo, and 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-tonne liquefied petroleum gas vessel, Temile 10, to transport LPG from producers to the domestic market.
Ekpo also recalled performing groundbreaking ceremonies for the NesGas 50,000-metric-tonnene LPG terminal at Onne, Rivers State; the Optimera Energy Natural Gas facility in Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos; and the and the Windek Energy Limited 20,000-metric-tonnene LPG depot in Atabrikang Aquaha, Ibeno LGA, Akwa Ibom State. He hinted that those projects 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.”