Decade of Gas: FG Identifies 20 Critical Projects to Deliver 4.6bcf/d by 2030

Peter Uzoho

The federal government has identified 20 critical gas development projects spanning drilling of a number of onshore, shallow water and deep offshore wells as well as pipeline infrastructure that will increase production by about 4.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) and close the projected 3bcf/d gap by 2030.

THISDAY gathered that some of the projects include the Shell’s Iseni gas project that recently achieved Final Investment Decision (FID) in January, and about four of the company’s Non-Associated Gas (NAG) wells already drilled in Ohaji in Imo State.

Others are about two deepwater gas projects expected to be carried out this year by TotalEnergies, among many other projects whose details are still kept secret until their official announcement.

However, some of the infrastructure projects that will support supply of the product include the just-inaugurated Assa-North-Ohaji (ANOH) gas processing plant build by Seplat Energy, with 300 million scf per day capacity; the ongoing Oben-Obiafu-Obrikom (OB3) Pipeline and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Pipeline among others.

With a projected 3bcf daily shortage in demand by 2030, experts forecast that Nigeria would suffer a gas problem that will further worsen the country’s energy poverty and crisis.

The situation has increased the pressure on both the government and the relevant critical stakeholders to quickly close the  gap before the turn of the decade to avert the looming crisis.

Addressing journalists in Lagos at a one-day workshop on the Decade of Gas, the Coordinating Director of the Decade of Gas Secretariat, Mr. Ed Ubong, said Nigeria has gas in abundance but the biggest problem is how to drill, produce and supply it to both the domestic and international market.