27 june 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos – Nigeria imported gas turbines for electricity generation valued at N22.607 billion in the first quarter of 2017, according to data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.
The NBS, in its First Quarter 2017 Foreign Trade Statistics, disclosed that the amount was expended on the acquisition of 5,000 kilowatts, KW, turbines from four different countries.
Specifically, gas turbines valued at N21.44 billion were imported from Germany; the United States sold gas turbines valued at N1.248 billion to Nigerian companies; while N0.792 million gas turbines were imported from India.
Nigeria’s defence on imported gas turbines will be redressed beginning from next year when US multinational company, General Electric, GE, will commence the operation of a gas turbine assembly plant in the country.
Chief Executive Officer, GE Nigeria, Mr. Lazarus Angbazo, revealed recently that the company had invested over $100 million on the plant and that construction work on the plant, which is located in Calabar, Cross River State, would be completed in December.
According to him, GE wants to support the development of Nigeria’s gas reserve, which is largely untapped, and has invested in some local power plants.
Officials said demand for gas in the country was estimated to rise to three billion standard cubic feet per day by 2017 from 1.2 billion scf per day in 2015, 10 times the 300 million scf of eight years ago.
The country has the world’s ninth largest proven gas reserves at 187 trillion scf. Last month, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said it wanted to more than triple gas supply for local use by 2020.
