Gas Revolution: NNPC, ICRC constitute Calabar-Kano pipeline team

By Oscarline Onwuemenyi

ABUJA – The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, ICRC, have constituted a delivery committee to actualise Federal Government’s gas revolution plan through a Public Private Partnership initiative.

At a meeting of the two agencies in Abuja, the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mr. Austen Oniwon, and the ICRC Director General, Mr. Mansur Ahmed, both agreed to lead the delivery team for the Calabar-Ajaokuta-Kano gas pipeline.

“In order to harness the economic linkages of the gas revolution, it has become important to kick start the process that would provide the infrastructure necessary for effective gas distribution,” Oniwon said.

He observed that the huge cost of the trans-Nigeria gas pipeline has made it imperative to explore the Private-Public-Partnership, PPP, option in such a way as to attract long-term investors.

He noted that while gas generation might not be a problem, the lack of distribution infrastructure has hampered the growth of businesses that are dependent on gas.

According to him, fertilizer and petrochemical plants would do better, and this would translate into better agricultural yields should there be gas availability to power the plants and blending firms particularly in agricultural zones.

He commended the ICRC initiatives to awaken public institutions to the PPP opportunities for infrastructure service delivery.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, had announced at the launch of the Gas Revolution in March that government would embark on the construction of a critical gas pipeline estimated to cost about $2 billion, adding that focus on its rapid development is ongoing.

According to her, the delivery of the vision is anchored on some cardinal principles including a significantly improved power availability, repositioning of the country as the undisputed regional hub for gas-based industries such as fertilizer, petro-chemicals and methanol, as well as a geographically spread industrialization, creating wealth rapidly across the nation.

She added that the Federal government’s gas agenda, both domestic and export, clearly paves the way for Nigeria to be in that category, with all the attendant benefits.

“That agenda will necessitate an unprecedented growth in our gas supply, from the current one billion cubic feet per day to over 10 billion cubic feet per day by 2020. Realizing this growth calls for a radical review of how the nationwide gas potential is harnessed,” she said.

She further noted that in order to grow the gas industry at the envisioned pace, there must be flexibility in our gas resource development and supply base. “This calls for the strategic development of various inland basins, in addition to the Niger Delta and offshore basins.

“Over the next five years, we will be prioritizing about $1 billion for further seismic data gathering, aeromagnetic surveys, exploration and appraisal drilling. By enhancing the prospectivity of these basins, we hope to build a significant supply bases across the various geopolitical zones that complement the existing gas supply centres in the Niger Delta,” she added

Based on the above, she stated, the current pipeline infrastructure which is anchored around the Calabar-Ajaokuta-Kano line would be further complimented by a network of additional spur lines originating from these new supply centres in the inland basin enhancing growth of local supply and consumption.

“This will greatly accelerate industrialization across the country,” Alison-Madueke added.

Above all, she said, this agenda sets the tone for the final stop of gas flaring in Nigeria as the markets created provide a sink for all currently flared gas

ICRC’s DG, Mansur, welcomed the partnership with NNPC and described the gas infrastructure as the key to unlocking Nigeria’s economic potential.

“We will be taking a step towards sustainable growth if we use what we have in abundance to propel growth and development in other areas of our economy,” the ICRC boss said.

He disclosed that the commission has identified 60 critical infrastructure projects to be executed over the next four years so as to make Nigeria set to achieve its Vision 20:2020 goal of becoming one of the world’s largest 20 economies in 2020.