Ike Amos
23 May 2018, Sweetcrude, Abuja — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Tuesday, stated that together with its Joint Venture Partner, Nigeria Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC), it would implement the Okpai Phase 2 Project to shore up current power generation by 500 megawatts.
According to a statement in Abuja, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, disclosed this when he received the new Vice Chairman and Managing Director of NAOC, Fiorillo Lorenzo.
Baru said the Okpai Phase 2 Project was being fine-tuned to expeditiously bring it on stream, adding that it would increase power generation by between 10 to 12 percent.
He said, “That is additional 500mw of power that is coming in, provided the transmission is up and going, then we should be able to boost the current power supply to the country by another 10 to 12 percent of the current generation.”
When completed, Baru said the project would impact significantly on economic activities of the country, stressing that once power was available, there would be a lot of improvement in the standard of living of Nigerians.
in his remarks, Lorenzo said his company had a long-standing partnership with Nigeria and NNPC.
He said, “We want to grow and we want to build and develop new opportunities for the country and support the country in its energy journey. We want to try to change and improve the energy mix of the country and the Okpai Project is a testament to this commitment of our company.”
Also speaking, the outgoing Vice Chairman of NAOC, Massimo Insulla, said the meeting with the GMD was fruitful with the discussion focusing on the opportunities in the Joint Venture (JV) and the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) and taking advantage of the oil price condition to bring additional value to the investment in Nigeria.
He said, “We have been working for 15 years to implement the Okpai Phase 2 Project which is very important to the NNPC/NAOC JV, and we have been able to find a way to achieve our target with this administration.”
