By: Clement Darlington
As Nigeria’s economy continues to buckle under the weight of very necessary reforms orchestrated by the nascent government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the NNPCL under Kyari is also plugging in with very necessary inputs capable of changing the game for the good of Nigerian energy consumers and the nation’s economy.
This is headlined by the recent partnership between NNPCL NIPCO Gas Limited to develop Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations in the country. A statement by the NNPCL announcing the partnership explained that the pact is “part of the NNPCL commitment to reducing carbon footprint and providing cheaper alternative fuel to motorists”.
“Under the NNPC-NIPCO strategic partnership, 35 state-of-the-art CNG stations will be constructed nationwide, including three (3) Mother stations,”. Once fully operational, Mr Kyari said the stations could service over 200,000 vehicles daily, thereby significantly reducing carbon emissions and associated impact on climate.
The phased implementation of this partnership is expected to begin yielding the good as early as March 2024 when over 25 stations are expected to have been up and running. The second phase, expected to deliver 35 LNG stations “to support intra-city transportation is expected sometimes in 2025 while the third phase will comprise of over 56 stations across the nation.
Kyari’s commitment to alternative energy is no secret. After an inspection of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas pipeline which is been sponsored 100% by the NNPCL, Kyari reported that over 70% of the work has been concluded, even as he reiterated the company’s commitment to completing the project as at when due.
Besides serving to further deepen national integration, especially between the northern region of the country with the Niger Delta and other parts of the country, NNPCL disclosed that the pipeline which can transport two (2) billion standard cubic feet of natural gas per day, will service three (3) proposed independent power plants in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano, and other gas-based industries as well as other identified and proposed commercial off-takers along the entire pipeline route.
Just yesterday, the president and commander in chief of Nigeria’s armed forces, performed the groundbreaking ceremony of the first phase of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) 1350 Megawatt (MW) Gwagwalada independent power plant (GIPP) project in Abuja.
At the event, NNPCL reiterated its resolve to deliver alternative source of energy and power to more homes in Nigeria. The Gwagwalada Independent Power Plant Project (GIPP), a 1,350MW combined cycle power plant with auxiliaries to be situated on a 547 hectares of land already acquired at Gwagwalada, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja will consists of three powertrain blocks of 450 MW each.
When completed, GIPP plant will generate an average of 10.3 million Megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity per year for sale to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), via a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the NBET to distribution companies (Discos) under long-term agreements and direct sale to major off-takers.
This and many more are the industry value chain tweaks that NNPCL under Mele Kyari believes will not only reduce over dependence on petrol, the high cost of which is currently associated with rising cost of living, but will also force the price of the commodity down as more Nigerians will have access to both power and LNG as alternative sources of energy.
In addition to working assiduously to not only work out the legal framework with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), Kyari is ensuring that the gains of implementing the PIA are quickly felt by Nigerians. With subsidy on petrol now gone, nothing will serve Nigerians better than the know-how of an industry expert whose resolve to make the nations petroleum resources work for the people is unrivalled.
Darlington writes from Lagos
