15 May 2013, Lagos – UNIGAS and Black Crystal Energy Group announce their preparation and commitment to the pursuit of a sustainable economic development project in Nigeria’s natural gas industry through development of an underground storage facility.
This project will bring energy security, economic prosperity, employment opportunities, national pride, and uninterrupted electrical power development to Nigeria on a scale never seen before in the history of the country.
UNIGAS and Black Crystal Energy Group is fast approaching a significant milestone – the proposal, approval, design, construction, and development of comprehensive technologically integrated “stateof-the-art “ underground natural gas storage (UNGS) for Nigeria with a price tag of nearly $2 billon U.S.D.
This proposed project is a first of its kind, not only in Nigeria, but in Africa. It is an intricate part of
the natural gas industry, supported by new technology that could have the biggest (immediate and future) impact on the lives of Nigerians. The project will impact heavy and/or light industries; the public and private commercial business enterprises; small scale mom-and-pop operations nationwide; the overall governments operations; and public service utilities especially the power generation sector.
We continue to support Nigerian government’s commitment to foster innovations in the area of sustainable energy development for the people. We are appreciative of those who have expressed serious interest and commitment in investing and participating financially and technically in this project with our company. We are especially appreciative of the international oil and gas producers who immediately saw the inherent economic values and benefits associated with the development and future expansion of underground natural gas storage in Nigeria.
In the meantime, while there are several opportunities for other investors large and small, to come in
and invest, we are presently working tenaciously on the ground breaking event by engaging the
Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
We are seeking formal approval from the Department of Petroleum (DPR) Resources and a concession to use
its presently abandoned oil and/or natural gas fields for the project.
In the proposal presented to the Honorable Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani AllisonMadueke, we have established and highlighted key areas of mutual interests and concerns. These include the areas of potential benefits to Nigeria and to our international partners on this project.
We believe our transparency and resolve to follow established government procedures in pursuant of the established goals of the Nigerian Gas Master Plan will hopefully engender more favorable discussions among all parties. Importantly, the discussions would assist us to develop coherent plans for a way forward in obtaining constructive, positive considerations and approval for the needed concessions including all the necessary permits for this project.
We strongly believe that underground natural gas is the ultimate game changer in the Nigeria Gas Master Plan. It will guarantee long term energy security for Nigeria and, acts as the stepping stone to guide full exploitation and management of Nigeria’s natural gas sector.
While this project could revolutionize the entire energy industry and more importantly the natural gas industries in Nigeria, we are resolved in maintaining unremitting research efforts that will continue to support the
purposive aims of the Nigeria Gas Master Plan, aimed at achieving sustainable broad base use of natural gas inside and outside of Nigeria, with greater local content participation in the development of the natural gas industry.
The full potential of natural gas energy can be fully realized if and when a safe, viable and reliable natural gas storage sites are provided closer to the market or the sources of oil and gas production.
Consequently, natural gas production and storage is vital to many industries, including factories, commercial and residential businesses in the country. Therefore we believe that provision of viable natural gas storage using abandoned or depleted field would accelerate the domestic (local, national) and global shift to full utilization of natural gas as indispensable choice of clean and safe energy.
Underground natural gas storages will:
*Help stimulate the badly needed multiplier effect of gas usage in the domestic economy.
*Offer convenience of large volume gas storage space for natural gas export markets.
*Improve the level of efficiency in the domestic natural gas industry.
*Support national electrical generation plants by providing gas for electrical cogeneration power plants.
*Support heavy industries such as cement, iron and steel or the petrochemical industries etc., in their production schedules.
*Provide a means to develop secondary industries that could run on natural gas instead of diesel.
*Transform the general economic development of Nigeria as a whole by improving the revenue generated from production and sales of natural gas.
*Underground natural gas storage is not only a great way to store natural gas it is a clean, safe, efficient and reliable method of energy storage, and it makes good business sense.
*Black Crystal Energy Group press statement
