Ike Amos
04 November 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its Joint Venture partner, Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), has flagged off the second phase of the Okpai Independent Power Plant project.
The NNPC, in a statement Friday, in Abuja, said the plant which has a capacity of 480 megawatts (MW) would be completed in 2019.
Speaking at the inauguration of the project, Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mr. Maikanti Baru, said all the partners were working round the clock to deliver on the project in terms of specifications, time and budget.
He noted that the decision by the partners to embark on the second phase of the Okpai power project was hinged on the enormous success of Okpai Phase I, which he described as the most consistent power plant in the country.
“Although it (Okpai Phase I) was meant to generate 450MW into national grid, it is now generating an average of 300MW due to evacuation challenge. This is a significant addition to the national grid,” he said.
He explained that the Okpai Phase II project, on completion, would generate additional 480MW into the national grid, while he charged the 12-man committee to work hard and explore the possibility of delivering the project ahead of the 2019 target date, stressing that the project was very critical to the nation’s power aspirations.
Baru also urged the JV partners to sustain the march towards transforming into an Independent JV in keeping with Presidential approval.
Speaking earlier, the Managing Director of NAOC, Mr. Massimo Insula, who was represented by Mr. Luca Bai, said everything had been put in place to ensure that the Okpai Phase II Project was delivered on schedule.
In his own remarks, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Oando, Mr. Omamofe Boyo, said his company was committed to sustaining the successes recorded in Phase I of the project, assuring that they would work with other partners to ensure prompt and timely delivery of the project.