WALKING THE TALK

· NNPCL is committed to ensuring that gas becomes an engine room for economic growth and development, writes Adams Muritala

· He is a man on a mission to restore the confidence of Nigerians, stakeholders and the investors in the oil and gas sector of Nigeria’s economy. Oil and gas, and allied products which are the mainstay of the country’s economy had been a source of concern to many people until the unbundling of the nation’s petroleum corporation. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), which is one of the entities that came out of the behemoth NNPC has been impressing Nigerians and investors, due to the effective management style of Mele Kyari. The promises he made to Nigerians on the stability of petroleum products distribution, among others, are being fulfilled.

· Since he got into the saddle, the perennial fuel scarcity has become a thing of the past. Even when there were hitches in the supply system of petroleum products, the leadership of the NNPCL was always prompt in allaying the fears of Nigerians, articulating the solutions, and putting a timeline to when normalcy will be restored. This pragmatic approach to crisis management has boosted the confidence of the people.

· So, it was not surprising when the NNPCL boss delivered on the mandate to make available Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations, as an affordable alternative to petrol that has become very expensive globally. In furtherance of this goal, Mele Kyari was in Lagos recently to commission the company’s 5.2MMscf CNG plant in Ilasamaja area of Lagos State. He disclosed that plans were underway to roll out six more CNG plants.

· These proposed CNG stations, with 5.2mmscfd capacity each, will be located in selected locations across the country to ease access to bulk CNG.

· Speaking at the event, Mr. Kyari said the national oil firm has taken a Final Investment Decision (FID) with Axxela Limited to deliver the projects.

· The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), as of January, put the nation’s natural gas reserves at 209.26 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF). Buttressing the country’s enormous gas reserves, Kyari said: “We’re a gas country with associated oil. But we haven’t taken advantage of this gas for a very long period of time.”

· He noted that NNPC’s investments in gas are not just market-driven, but also as mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to drive domestic utilisation of gas.

· The NNPCL boss asserted that in the last year, there have been vigorous activities by the government to ensure that gas becomes an engine room for economic growth and development in the country.

· “We’re building massive infrastructure in-country to ensure that gas reaches every corner of our country, but more than anything bring the volume that we require for the economic growth that this country truly deserves,” he said. “NNPC will continue to deliver more strategic projects for the benefit of our country. We shall utilise our gas resources for industrialisation, power generation and economic prosperity for all.”

· He highlighted the significant role the Obiafu-Obrinkon-Oben (OB3), Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) and Escravos Lagos Pipeline Systems (ELPS) gas pipelines will play in deepening domestic utilisation of gas in-country.

· “I’ll like to inform you that many of these backbone infrastructure projects – the OB3, the AKK and also the expansion of ELPS – will automatically connect our gas sources, encourage gas producers to see the opportunity to grow gas into our pipeline networks,” Kyari said.

· He expressed optimism that CNG will soon become the fuel of choice for many motorists in Nigeria.

· President Tinubu’s minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, who has expressed the confidence of the President in the capacity of Mr. Kyari, in turning around the nation’s oil corporation, said the NNPCL, under Kyari, has been advancing the agenda of the administration to make CNG available to all Nigerians.

· He described the feat as a critical turning point in the development of affordable, sustainable, and securing energy sources in the country.

· The minister described 2024 as a historic year for Nigerians, stressing that through his courageous decision to eliminate fuel subsidies and promote the acceptability and broader use of LPG, President Bola Tinubu has brought about several fresh beginnings to the lives of Nigerians.

· “Although the elimination of the Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) subsidy has brought difficulties, it has also given us a once-in-a-lifetime chance to invent and adopt more economical, efficient, and sustainable energy alternatives,” he stated.

· The CNG station can serve vehicles and also supply gas to industries and other companies. The facility utilises state-of-the-art 95MScf/hour compressors and has dispensing points for filling of gas-powered vehicles, utilising CNG as a primary or alternate fuel.

· It would deliver CNG at 250 bar into specialised tube trailers for onward delivery to customers beyond the pipeline gas areas, approximately within a 250km radius of the facility. With an average tank capacity of 40SCM for Autogas cars and 250SCM for Buses/Trucks, the 150,000SCM capacity plant can fill about 3,700 cars or 600 trucks/buses daily.

· Nigeria has adopted gas as its transition fuel and is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. NNPC Limited is leading the vanguard of powering Nigeria’s greener future

· It will be recalled that before the partnership with TGNL, in August 2023, in order to deepen domestic utilisation of gas, NNPCL entered into a strategic partnership with NIPCO Gas Limited, with the plan to deploy CNG stations across the country. Under the partnership, 35 CNG stations will be set up in Lagos and other parts of the country.

· The Secretary to the Federal Government, George Akume had also recently disclosed that the plan of President Tinubu to provide CNG buses to ease the pains of vulnerable Nigerians will soon become a reality.

· In all this, Kyari has proven to be capable of delivering on the CNG revolution that will forever alter the energy landscape of Nigeria.

· Muritala writes from Abuja