The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and its contractor handling the bulk of the $2.6bn Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project, Oilserv Limited, on Thursday stated that natural gas would be transported through the AKK pipeline in the first quarter of 2023.
Both firms made stated this during an inspection tour of the construction work on the gas pipeline project in the Abaji end of the facility in Abuja.
The 40-inch by 614km AKK pipeline project, which was inaugurated in June 2020, is a section of the Trans-Nigeria Gas Pipeline with a capacity to transport about 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day.
The AKK pipeline originates from Ajaokuta, in Kogi State and traverses Abuja, Niger, Kaduna and terminates at Kano.
Speaking during the inspection of the project, the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mele Kyari, told journalists that the President, Major Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), would see to completion of the project before the expiration of his regime.
Kyari said, “This is a signature project for Mr. President. This is one great thing that this President will deliver to this country before he leaves and we will put gas on this line before Mr. President leaves.
“More importantly, this is one major project that will bring development and progress to this country, power will be stabilised, industries will come up across the country, because this will ensure gas supply nationwide, not just the AKK pipeline.
“We are very confident and vow that this project will be delivered and that this country will be happy that we have done something great. By quarter one 2023 we’ll put gave on this line.”
On the work being done by the contractor, Kyari said, “We are happy with this contractor and we know that this project will be delivered on time and as scheduled. Yes we have missed some time and we are doing catch-up, but we are truly going to meet the new schedule we have set.“
The Group Chairman, Oilserv Limited, Emeka Okwuosa, said the engineering work handled by the contractor was more than 80 per cent done, while procurement was over 50 per cent completed.
He said, “By building AKK we’ll be able to move gas and satisfy the midstream activities and this generates the upstream activities that would happen in the South our country.
“Gas is a key factor in the energy sector in the country. It is what will make Nigeria come up again industrially and we will be able to develop the country through the gas.”
Okwuosa described the current completion stage of the project as a moving target, adding that “what I tell you today is not what you will see tomorrow because every day here we are achieving an unbelievable pace.
“We do about 1km of welding of 40-inches and we are doing this with six to seven cruise. All I can tell you is that we are geared to deliver this project in schedule, working with NNPC the owner of the project to deliver as they want it.”
