The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has announced that it will break ground on three mini-Liquefied Natural Gas projects in August of this year.
This was disclosed by the NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, who announced this in Abuja, on Thursday at the inaugural Africa Gas Innovation Summit 2024 organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers, with the theme: “Igniting the Future: Driving Sustainability in Africa’s Energy Landscape through Gas Technology and Innovation,” according to The Punch.
Kyari also stated that the company would make a Final Investment Decision this year for the expansion of six new Compressed Natural Gas mother stations and that the oil corporation was presently upgrading scores of CNG refueling stations across the country.
LNG and CNG are both cleaner-burning alternatives to conventional fuels such as gasoline and diesel. LNG is utilized in power plants to create electricity, and industries use it as a fuel source for a variety of thermal operations. CNG is largely utilized as a transportation fuel for buses, trucks, and certain automobiles. It is also an efficient fuel source for electricity generation.
In his speech, Kyari who was represented by the company’s Executive Vice President, Gas, Power, and New Energy, Olalekan Ogunkeye stated that NNPC has inked several agreements for the development of gas projects by the Federal Government’s goal to increase gas usage.
“To accelerate gas commercialisation, bearing in mind that this is the era of gas, NNPC has signed MoUs and project development agreements for floating LNG projects which will be the first in Nigeria, while currently executing a 30mmscuf/d small-scale mini-LNG project.
“Indeed, we are currently participating in three mini-LNG projects slated for ground-breaking this August. NNPC is also currently leading the Federal Government’s autogas initiative.
“Aside from the recent inauguration of the 5.2mmscuf/d Ilasamaja mother station CNG plant, the GCEO of NNPC recently announced plans to take FID within this year and roll out additional six CNG mother station plants with similar capacity, and scores of CNG refilling stations are being renovated and upgraded to provide access to cleaner and cheaper fuel across the country,” Kyari said.
Other ambitions, according to him, involve the establishment of many gas-based industries in industrial hubs at strategic places throughout the country, boasting fertilizer and chemical factories, among others.
He said, this is consistent with the Federal Government’s ambitions, which are supported by the Decade of Gas project.
According to Kyari, despite generating the lowest volume of emissions internationally, Sub-Saharan Africa remains energy-deprived.
“Nigeria, however, is blessed with abundant natural gas resources of more than 209TCF of gas, which can take us out of these challenges by providing access to electricity, clean cooking fuel, autogas and feedstock for other industries, thereby generating wealth and improving our wellbeing.
“From an NNPC standpoint, this summit’s theme and topics clearly resonate, and NNPC is at the forefront of orchestrating a sustainable energy future for itself and Africa leveraging on gas technology and innovation,” he stated.
