By Stanley Onyeka, Lagos
Seplat Energy Plc says it is looking to invest in Compressed Natural gas (CNG) projects in support of the Federal Government’s CNG initiative.
The dual-listed Nigerian independent energy company said the move is one of its ways of rising to the challenge of energy deficit in Nigeria through its new critical projects.
The Director New Energy, Seplat Energy, Okechukwu Mba, said this while delivering a keynote at the ongoing Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigerian Council’s 47th Nigeria Annual International Conference & Exhibition (NAICE) in Lagos.
Mr. Mba, who represented Seplat Energy’s CEO, Roger Brown, spoke on the Conference theme: “Petroleum Industry Value Chain Optimisation: The Inevitability of Midstream and Downstream Development.”
He however hinted that the CNG investment would be pushed forward, “When we receive approval for the Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) transaction, we intend to promptly develop the significant gas resources in the asset to further enhance Nigeria’s energy security.”
Currently, the country is experiencing a number of challenges with energy security, including:
insufficient supply of electricity from the national grid (about 4GW daily);
very low electricity usage per-capita (with some Nigerians with no access to energy); insufficient supply of gas to some power plants;
and the bulk of electricity used in Nigeria generated off-grid at two or three times the cost of generation using gas turbines.
We need to develop our abundant gas resources and deliver sufficient gas to the power sector for energy security.
To this end, Mr. Mba said: “We need to develop our abundant gas resources and deliver sufficient gas to the power sector for energy security.
“Gas is an affordable and reliable source of energy. Incentives provided in the recent Executive Orders as well as recent review of Domestic Gas Delivery Obligation (DGDO) gas prices are commendable.
“Current reforms in the power sector need to be sustained like tariff increase, bilateral power trading between power generation companies (GenCos) and power distribution companies (DisCos).
“Key gas infrastructure like the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3), the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipelines, and so on, should be delivered.”
He noted that the company’ new $700million ANOH gas project in Imo State, with a capacity of 300MMscfd of gas in addition to Liquefied Petroleum Ga (LPG) will greatly boost domestic gas supply.
“Also completing a new 85MMscfd gas plant in Sapele Delta state expected to come on stream by Q4 this year. These new projects bring Seplat Energy’s gas processing capacity to 850MMscfd, consolidating our position as a leading gas supplier to the domestic market,” Mba noted.
