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Nigeria: '2009 Deadline for Gas Flaring Not Realistic'
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This Day (Lagos)
26 March 2008
Posted to the web 26 March 2008
Stanley Nkwazema
Abuja
Mnaging Director, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Abubakar Yar'Adua, has admitted that the 2009 deadline set by the Federal Government for oil and gas companies to stop gas-flaring will not be realistic, till when all stakeholders in the industry sort out the grey areas in the policy.
Yar'Adua, who was speaking yesterday afternoon during an interactive session with members of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) at the NNPC headquarters in Abuja, said it is only when enough funds are made available to the stakeholders and a funding plan worked out that the problem could be solved.
He said, "truly the 2009 deadline set as deadline against gas- flaring by the Federal Government is not in any way realistic. But till all stakeholders sit down and see that funds are raised, then the issue will never be tackled, because it is not supported with a funding plan."
Yar'Adua also disclosed that the organisation is returning to the Chad basin to explore for gas, since seismographic results have shown that gas in the area is large enough for commercial exploration.
Northern Nigeria Development Corporation (NNDC) , he confirmed, has already taken up some acreages of the area, in conjunction with an American company for oil exploration.
"There is a lot of gas in the Chad area. We have done 3G surveys and we have found a lot of gas. We are going back there and within the next quarter, we will have something to show for it. Gas is gradually taking over from the Petrol we have been looking for, and with our studies, we have enough and will explore it.
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"We may produce gas turbines to provide power. We will do it and we are realistic about it," Yar'Adua said, adding that General Abdualsami Abubakar's administration saved NNPC from collapse. The funds before then were collected by CBN. We wanted to build refineries in Calabar, Lagos and even Okene, but when Abacha came in, PTDF collected the funds and gave us what was left behind.
"We were almost collapsing before Abdulsalami came in.
All NNPC subsidiaries were not incorporated. It is hard to believe, but that is the true story," he said.
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