LAGOS – The Federal Government, says its target is to drive the Nigerian economy by gas in 2030.
Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Gas), disclosed this during a recent visit to the Uquo gas Central Processing Facility in Akwa Ibom State, which is owned by Accugas Limited, a subsidiary of Savannah.
He said: “The President is very intentional and strategic about developing the gas sector to drive the economy of this nation. We know that if the economy of Nigeria is driven by gas, it will make things easier and that is the target of the ‘Decade of Gas’ initiative.
Commenting on the importance of gas to the Nigerian economy, the Minister stated that His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu is intent on developing the gas sector to drive the Nigerian economy.
He praised Savannah Energy, for its substantial investment in Nigeria’s energy sector to date, saying that it appreciates what the company is doing, and encourages Savannah to sustain it.
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He said that Savannah’s substantial investment to date has helped in boosting domestic gas supply in the country, where Savannah now supplies gas enabling approximately 20% of Nigeria’s thermal power generation capacity.
Pade Durotoye, the Managing Director of Savannah Energy, Nigeria, who accompanied the Minister on the Uquo visit, explained that the company, through Accugas Limited, has invested over US$1.6 billion in gas processing and transportation infrastructure to support the domestic market since 2014.
Durotoye said: “Accugas is also investing an additional US$45m in a new compression system at the Uquo facility that will allow the company to continue to provide reliable gas supplies to customers for years to come.
The system comprises two parallel trains with a capacity of 160 MMscfpd each and is designed to increase the gas export pressure. The project is expected to be completed and operational later this year.”
Durotoye added that Savannah strongly supports the Federal Government’s adoption of natural gas as a transition fuel in Nigeria’s net-zero pathway, particularly for power generation, adding that this is why Accugas has invested in building a nameplate 200 MMscfpd gas processing facility, supported by a ~260km gas pipeline network solely for the domestic market.
Durotoye, stated that all the company’s gas is consumed domestically, with 80% being sold to thermal power generation companies, and the remainder to a range of large industrial customers, such as cement producers, where, for example, Accugas enables about 10% of the country’s cement production.
