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Nigeria: Delta State to Build 1112km of Gas, 450 Mw Power Stations
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Vanguard (Lagos)
20 May 2008
Posted to the web 20 May 2008
Luka Binniyat
Lagos
The Governor of Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan, has unveiled the plans of the state government to build 1,112 km gas pipeline system within the state's 18,050Sq.km space and construct two Independent Power Projects (IPPs) that will generate not less than 450Mw of electricity to serve its estimated four million people.
The Governor made this known recently during the Nigerian Gas Master Plan Investors' Road Show 2008 held in Abuja.According to Uduaghan, Delta State has it own Gas Master Plan and is aligned with the National Gas Master Plan.
"This will ensure an unprecedented development in the Gas sector and act as a catalyst for the economic development and industrialisation of the state and by extension, the Niger- Delta region," he told the audience at the NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja.
According to him, the gas resources in Delta State is availing the state the opportunity to build approximately 1,112 km gas pipeline transmission within the state which will lead to the creation of Gas cities for Industrial Estates within the state. "At the state level," he said, "we've looked into the issue of power from our gas resources. While the Federal Government is still grappling with the issue o f power supply, we want to go on to develop our own independent 150 megawatts gas-fired power stations in the first phase and another 250 megawatts Independent Power Projects," he told the crowd.
Speaking at the same forum, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, said that gas infrastructure was a critical factor in cost competitiveness and that Nigeria must proceed with the implementation of the Gas Blueprint, which assured competitiveness of its gas in the short and long-terms. "Beyond the cost competitiveness, the blueprint also addresses the issue of flared gas and the impact of massive infrastructure investment on the ecology and general environment of the Niger-Delta.
"A pipeline is proposed to ensure gas availability in the eastern and northern parts of Nigeria, thereby creating a platform for revitalisation of industries and the general economy in these areas," he said. He stated that gas availability is essential for serious industrial growth hence the plan to expand gas supplies to the two regions.Kingibe then disclosed that President Umaru Yar'Adua has has directed an aggressive action to double gas production in the domestic market within the next 12 months as part of government's short-term gas plan, aimed at doubling gas availability in the domestic market within 12 months and tripling it within 24 months. He said this would bring about significant improvement in power supply, as it would have a marked impact on electric power availability.
Elaborating on government's plans, the Group General Manager and Senior Technical Assistant to the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. David Ige said,"There will be one gas processing centre in Delta, another processing centre at Port Harcourt and one in the Akwa Ibom-Calabar area. The plan is to bring all the gas in the Niger-Delta to all the central processing facility.
"And from there, we will strip LPG, and condensate and the dry gas coming out of the facility will go into the Escravos-Lagos pipeline, and potentially into the West Africa pipeline to develop the regional market," he said. Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Energy (Gas), Emmanuel O. Odusina has said that President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua cannot declare a state of emergency in the Power sector as he had earlier promised, explaining that, there are no supporting infrastructure on ground in the sector, for him to make such a declaration.
Speaking at the same Nigerian Gas Master Plan Investors' Road show, the minister said the government has not declared a state of emergency in the Power sector because there are no infrastructure to fall back on. He particularly noted that the gas sector is not developed enough to support the thermal power plants in a situation of such a declaration. He said that most of the pipelines needed for transporting the gas were not in good condition, adding that the Federal Government has presented a $30 billion (about N3.5 trillion) investment opportunity for gas infrastructure to stakeholders and investors.
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Odusina said the present administration has approved the first Nigerian gas master plan which comprises gas pricing policy and a regulation that addresses gas availability for domestic use, as well as a comprehensive gas infrastructure blueprint that will guide future investment in Nigerian gas infrastructure
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