Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, says more collaborations and interventions are needed to improve domestic gas utilisation in the country, despite the various initiatives and policy framework set up by the Federal Government.
The Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA, Engr Farouk Ahmed, who disclosed this in Port Harcourt during a stakeholder’s engagement on gas utilisation in Nigeria, assured that the Authority, as empowered by the Petroleum Industry Act, remained poised to enable the growth of the industry.
Ahmed said the engagement with stakeholders was imperative to create the necessary awareness and make the compelling case for industry operators to foster a compliance culture which alone guarantees safer and sustainable facilities.
He added that the engagement seeks to encourage large consumers of petroleum products to not only operate within the regulatory space, but also to become aware of the comparative advantages between the different fuels particularly gas, which has been designated as Nigeria’s transition fuel.
“It is in this regard that the Federal Government has put in place various initiatives and policy framework including National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) and the Decade of Gas Programme (DOGP). The PIA has also established within the Authority, the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund to catalyse gas investments.
“These efforts are yielding significant results; yet more collaborations and interventions are needed to improve domestic gas utilisation,” he stated.
Also, the Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, Ogbugo Ukoha, noted that some of the heaviest consumers of diesel were operating outside the regulatory oversight which was not in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act.
Ukoha said the objective of the engagement was to enlighten such consumers on the need to urgently obtain the requisite petroleum storage license and to engender the transition from diesel, kerosene and fuel to gas.
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