TheCable

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it is working assiduously to ensure a timely delivery of gas pipeline infrastructure projects.

Mele Kyari, NNPC’s group chief executive officer (GCEO), spoke at the 2023 Oloibiri lecture series and energy forum (OLEF), organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).

Speaking at the event on Thursday, Kyari said the projects will connect West African countries in order to deliver natural gas to international markets.

The NNPC boss said Nigeria’s domestic gas infrastructure network has the capacity to transport 6.9 billion standard cubic feet (BCF) of gas to support power generation and gas-based industries.

He said Nigeria’s huge investment in gas infrastructure is hinged on its growing natural gas reserves, supporting the nation’s aspiration to create Africa’s biggest industrial hub — powered by low-carbon energy.

Kyari said the national oil firm was capitalising on Nigeria’s huge natural gas reserves of over 200 trillion cubic feet (TCF), which have the potential to reach 600 TCF, as more investment is expected due to the recent resolution of the production sharing contract disputes with partners.

He added that the significant reserve would serve as a low-carbon energy alternative that would support growth in power and industrial sectors, address energy poverty, reduce carbon-footprint, and create more job opportunities.

“NNPC is playing a leading role in the realisation of the national gas expansion programme, which seeks to deepen natural gas utilisation as an alternative transportation fuel, and an important feedstock for gas-based industries development,” Kyari said.

“We are working assiduously to ensure timely delivery of gas pipeline infrastructure projects, including the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline corridor, [the] planned Nigeria-Morocco and Trans-Sahara Gas pipelines, that will connect West African countries to deliver natural gas to international markets.”

Kyari added that the NNPC was leveraging the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to attract more investment in the Nigerian petroleum sector in order to continue to ensure energy access while aligning with the global transition goals.

“As part of our sustainability strategy, NNPC is deploying carbon-reduction initiatives to gradually decarbonise our operations and improve our compliances with global emission reduction,” the NNPC GCEO said.

“All of these cannot be achieved if we do not have security of our operations. We will continue to further deepen collaboration amongst all the relevant stakeholders; government security agencies, host communities and others to enhance energy security.

“NNPC will deepen relationship with the industry, governments, research institutions and the academia to strengthen its renewable energy division to pursue commercially viable new energy ventures in line with Nigeria’s net-zero aspiration by 2060.”