Ike Amos
01 March 2018, Sweetcrude, Abuja — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Thursday, stated that it has connected all the thermal power stations in the country to permanent gas supply pipelines.
Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Maikanti Baru, who disclosed this at the 2018 Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum, OLEF, organized by the Society of Petroleum Engineers, SPE, said this became possible because of the massive revamp of the country’s pipeline network undertaken by the NNPC.
He said this had helped improved gas supply to critical sectors of the economy, adding that between 2010 and today, almost 500 kilometers of pipelines have been completed, commissioned and were now delivering gas.
Baru, who was represented by the Chief Operating Officer, Upstream of the NNPC, Mr. Bello Rabiu, also noted that oil and gas firms operating in the country are currently flaring 700 million standard cubic feet, SCFD, of gas daily, capable of generating an equivalent of 5,000 megawatts of electricity per day.
He stated that the volume of gas flared by oil and gas companies had dropped from 2.5 billion standard cubic feet, SCF, per day to the current level of 700 million SCF per day.
He attributed the decline in gas flaring to the aggressive gas reforms and implementation programme embarked upon by the NNPC and the Federal Government.
He listed some of the completed pipelines to include the 196 kilometers, KM, Oben-Geregu pipeline; 110km Escravos-Warri-Oben pipeline; 50km Emuren-Itoki pipeline; 31km Itoki-Olorunshogo pipeline; 24km Imo River-Alaoji pipeline and 128km Ukanafun-Calabar.
Baru said, “With these, all available power plants in the country today are connected to permanent gas supply pipelines. In addition, there is the ongoing construction of the very strategic East-West OB3 pipeline, which is 127km, scheduled for completion by third quarter 2018, the expansion of the Escravos-Lagos Gas Pipeline System scheduled for completion by first quarter 2018.
“Most recently, the Federal Executive Council approved the contract award of the 40-inch by 614Km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline and associated facilities. This pipeline is expected to supply natural gas to power plants and industries in the northern part of the country.”
Baru added that once completed, the nationwide backbone gas infrastructure would be in place, adding that with the effort in infrastructure development, the NNPC would have expanded supply capacity, establishing an integrated gas pipeline infrastructure grid across the entire country.
“With the growth in infrastructure, gas which was hitherto inaccessible and flared is now being utilized. Nigeria has seen the most aggressive drop in gas flaring from a peak of 2,500mmcf/d a few years ago to about 700mmcf/d currently and reducing, and in the next few years, we would have stopped routine flaring. That is, zero flares from all the gas producers, Baru explained.
Baru also lamented that despite the fact that the country is blessed with abundance of renewables which are yet to be fully harnessed into the country’s energy mix.
He listed the renewable as wind, solar, hydropower and geothermal as well as biomass and waste energy.