The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is pressing on with the gas infrastructure blueprint of the widely despised Jonathan administration by his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The administration of Goodluck Jonathan conceptualised Nigerian Gas Master Plan (NGMC) as a gas infrastructure blueprint and was approved by the Federal Executive Council in 2008.
The Jonathan administration was aligning the Nigerian gas to maximise the oil and gas sector value to the economy and transit from the oil industry to an integrated robust oil and gas industry.
The initiative was geared towards boosting the domestic market and realise maximum revenue possible from gas. As a result, the gas policy framework in the country was undergoing reforms, and the new policy initiative resulted in the Gas Master Plan, namely: the Domestic Gas Supply Obligation, the Gas Pricing Framework and the Gas Infrastructure Blueprint.
It is all part of Nigeria’s resolve to become a major international player in the international gas market as well as to lay a solid framework gas infrastructure expansion within the domestic market.
Interestingly, the Nigerian Gas Master Plan was approved on February 13, 2008, and is still receiving serious attention of the Buhari administration.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says the Master-Plan is a guide for the commercial exploitation and management of the country’s gas sector.
‘’It aims at growing the Nigerian economy with gas by pursuing three key strategies: Stimulate the multiplier effect of gas in the domestic economy, position Nigeria competitively in high-value export markets, and guarantee the long term energy security of Nigeria’’, NNPC says.
This Tuesday, President Buhari will perform the flag-off of the building of the 40-inch x 614km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline project.
The Engineering Procurement and Construction Contract (EPC) of the project was awarded by the Federal Executive Council in 2017.
Within the last 12 months the project received extra fillip from the current NNPC leadership led by Mele Kyari, which deftly removed the impediments that have stalled the project over the years leading to the flag-off ceremony tomorrow.
The project, expected to be completed within 24-months, is a section of the Trans-Nigeria Gas Pipeline (TNGP) with capacity to transport about 2.2billion cubic feet of gas per day.
Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of NNPC, Dr. Kennie Obateru, explains that the flag-off will be performed virtually from the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.
There will be simultaneous link to Rigachukun, Kaduna State and Ajaokuta Steel Complex, in Kogi State.
NNPC says the economic benefits of the AKK pipeline which will originate from Ajaokuta, in Kogi State and traverse Abuja, Niger, Kaduna and terminate at Kano, will boost domestic utilisation of natural gas for Nigeria’s social economic development, when completed.
It will also unlock 2.2billion cubic feet of gas to the domestic market, support the addition of 3,600mega watts of power to the national grid and revitalise textile industries which alone, boasts of over three million jobs in parts of the country.
Adding, NNPC says the AKK project will support the development of petrochemicals, fertilizer, methanol and other gas-based industries thereby generating employment opportunities and facilitating Balanced Economic Growth.
Continuing, the national oil corporation said the Right of Way for the proposed AKK gas pipeline will run parallel to the existing Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company’s 16 inch-crude oil and 12 inch- product pipelines wherever possible.
The corporation said the pipeline will be fed from the existing domestic Infrastructure with a capacity of over 1.5billion cubic feet per day.
It is being expanded by Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System II (ELPS II) and Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline (under construction) that will double the capacity to over 3billion cubic gas per day.
The AKK is ultimately designed to complement other major domestic gas transmission systems namely: the Western System, that is, the existing 36-inch Escravos-Lagos Pipeline I and II with 2.2billion cubic feet per day capacity and the On-going East-West connection via the OB3 pipeline featuring 2.4billion cubic feet per day capacity.
In another energy development, President Buhari in a phone chat with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, have reviewed the current progress made on the OPEC+ deal.
According to SPA, the Saudi news agency, both leaders spoke on Monday, pointing out that Buhari and Salman also reviewed aspects of cooperation to enhance stability of oil markets, SPA added.
Under the deal, Nigeria’s production quota has been pegged at 1.4m bpd. The country has promised to keep to the quota by the end of June, though it supplements its oil exports with over 350,000 bpd of condensates.
Saudi Arabia pegged its production to 7.492 million barrels per day in June.
According to a Platts survey, the 23 member states of OPEC+, comprising of OPEC and ten of its oil-producing allies, for the most part delivered on record production cuts agreed to by the alliance through the month of May.
“OPEC’s 13 members dropped their output to 24.32 million b/d, for a compliance rate of 82% with their prescribed cuts”, S&P Global Platts found in a survey released Wednesday.
The ten non-OPEC members, which include Russia, pumped a combined 13.89 million barrels per day comprising 91% of their cuts, bringing OPEC+’s collective compliance to 85%, Platts reported.
Following the coronavirus pandemic-induced plunge in oil prices, OPEC+ embarked on the largest coordinated oil production cut regime in history in May.
They agreed to cut 9.7 million bpd in an effort to support the market, amounting to about 10% of global oil supply.
In total, Platts found that the coalition managed to reduce its output by a combined 8.28 million bpd for the month.
