Yemisi Izuora
The Frontier Oil Limited (FOL), a leading indigenous oil and gas exploration and production company, and the Operator of the Uquo Marginal Field and the 200mmscf/d Central Processing Facility, has sustained gas supply to the Alaoji, Calabar and Ibom independent power plants which depends on the gas it produces from its facilities for its power generation.
Dada Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of FOL, while speaking at the recently concluded Society for Petroleum Engineers (SPE) forum in Lagos, said that the gas from its facilities has contributed immensely to the improved power situation in the country.
According to him, “The gas that fires the turbines of the Alaoji, Calabar and Ibom independent power plants is supplied from the Uquo Marginal Field and Uquo Central Processing plant, both operated by Frontier Oil Limited.
These plants produce an estimated cumulative power generation of eight per cent of the total power supply from the national grid.”
Thomas further informed that in addition to these power plants, gas from the facilities also serve the power generation needs of the UniCem Cement plant and as feedstock for the Notore Fertilizer plant.
The CEO, who said that Nigeria’s gas reserve is the 9th largest in the world and the largest in Africa, opined that gas is the future and the key to unlocking the economic potential of Nigeria and improving the living standards of the average Nigerian.
He however expressed concern over the low level of gas usage in Nigeria in comparison with other developing countries.
“Nigeria’s low gas consumption is contributing in some ways to Nigeria’s economic misfortune and resulted in its low GDP per capita. Countries consuming substantial volumes of gas have been able to significantly meet their energy needs and achieve high GDP per capita.”
He therefore urged the government to put the necessary policies in place to make this attainable.
In his words, “Government should create an enabling environment for Nigerian entrepreneurs and their partners to creative value locally. Government should incentivize indigenous independent operators as they incentivized international oil companies in the past.”
He recalled that Frontier Oil is the first and only indigenous operator who has succeeded in the monetization of both crude oil and non-associated natural gas from the marginal field awarded.