We’re building infrastructure required to deliver gas in country’, says NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Limited has restated its commitment to building the infrastructure that is required to deliver gas into the country. The Group Chief Executive of the company, Mele Kolo Kyari stated this during the Industry Keynote Address at the ongoing of the 23rd Annual Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG), Energy Week, with the theme “Showcasing Opportunities, Driving Investment, Meeting Energy Demand Conference and Exhibition, in Abuja.

Clearly stated that we must grow domestic gas, Kyari insisted the delivery of domestic gas was a key objective of the President Tinubu government, of the company as well as its various partners.

The Group Chief Executive upheld there’s no country clearly tied to Nigeria’s energy poverty, otherwise we would have had alternatives, but we didn’t have alternatives, he added. According to Kyari, this is because the country was unable to utilise the huge resources that it had in the country adding no one is putting money into domestic gas infrastructure.

“We are doing it, we are NNPC, we are leading this, he voiced. Of course, we charge tariffs, not corporate social responsibility (CSR), but we are leading this so that we can deliver this, Kyari stated.

“And I can tell you that within the next six months, you will see the changes that will happen. For instance, for those of us who are aware of the OB3 project, one element stopped us; we couldn’t cross the river Niger, a pipeline of 2.7 kilometers, so we couldn’t do it for 12 years. So it’s not an impossible activity, but it didn’t happen.

And I can tell you, we are, for the first time, we have crossed the one kilometer line on the river crossing, you all know that the rest part of it is a straight line. We don’t see any obstacle stopping us from crossing the river Niger”, he explained.

Expressing the confidence this would happen, the Group Chief Executive said once that is done it would introduce over 2 billion scope of gas. “Every one of us, I can see many of you here, waiting for the pipeline to work so that they can put money into upstream gas, or even non-Associated gas (NAG), adding nobody will do it except they see that.

Kyari agreed the independent companies, the Nigerian partners, would contribute to dome gas, but adding there must be an evacuation mechanism. “And we provide this, and as we are doing this, we are also not waiting for anyone.

We are deepening domestic gas utilisation, powering the compressed natural gas (CNG) initiative of President Tinubu so that Nigerians could have cheap automobile fuel”, he explained, it’s already happening, he added.

“I can tell you, in two days’ time, we are going to commission 12 stations in partnership with NIPCO, most of the stations are ours, so that in Lagos and Abuja, as we are expanding to other states, so that we can quickly provide the cheap automobile fuel, which is CNG. And this will lead, not just that we have to lead, but because this is business also”, he said, it will pay off, so others can join us. We invite you to join us, so that you can put money into this, Kyari added.

The Group Chief Executive emphasised that the country’s short-term and even long-term prosperity depended on what it did in the energy sector, adding it’s not just about creating energy.

He said: “We are creating resources that are required to develop this country, create the prosperity of today, so that the prosperity of tomorrow would also be realistic. And that is why it is not misplaced for our country to say that the survival, short-term survival of the economy of this country depends on all of us, adding it’s an easy way of doing it”, expressing the commitment the country would recover the 2 million barrels because it is practical.

Kyari expressed the assurance there are no issues anymore with whatever that is required to bring the incremental in terms of providing new assets, closing divestments, and also issues around weak sharing, removing the obstacles in the contracting process.

“We will act collectively and shortly so that we can achieve those outcomes, otherwise, we’ll not be in business, we’ll be talking, we don’t want to talk, we don’t want to debate, the debate has ended, and you need to join us”, Kyari stated.