Ike Amos
02 August 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Wednesday, announced plans to extend the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) from Ghana to Cote d’ Ivoire.
According to a statement in Abuja, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, made this disclosure while receiving a delegation from Cote d’Ivoire in Abuja.
Baru, who was represented by Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power of the NNPC, Mr. Saidu Mohammed, said the extension is part of the Federal Government West African energy integration policy and would facilitate easy transmission of gas within the West African sub-region.
He added that the visit would afford the NNPC and Cote d’Ivoire the opportunity to open a new vista for further bilateral discussion which would lead to the growth and development of the oil and gas sector.
According to him, Nigeria and indeed the NNPC has being into the business of oil and gas exploration and production for over fifty years, adding that the interface would enable the NNPC to share its vast experiences in the sector with the delegation.
He said, “Petroleum exploration and production dates back to over fifty years in Nigeria and a lot of experiences in technology and personnel management have been acquired. We are ready to share our experiences with you so as to help you to avoid the mistakes we made in the past.”
He expressed the readiness of the NNPC to develop the capacity of the delegation, adding that the NNPC was aware of the long history of refining in Cote d’ Ivoire.
Also speaking, leader of the Ivoirian delegation and Deputy Director, Production, of Ministry of Petroleum, Cote d’ Ivoire, Mr. Patrick Marshal, said the visit was to learn from Nigeria some of its best practices in personnel management, exploration and production in the oil and gas industry.