Yemisi Izuora
Nigeria has urged South Africa to invest in its gas sector which is currently worth $50billion.
Conveying the the invite to South Africa in Lagos at the Nigeria – South Africa Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting, the Director of Department of Petroleum Resources(DPR), Mr.Ladan Modecai, explained that his action was ignited by the conviction that there is prospect for gas in Nigeria beyond its shores..
He disclosed that such investment prospects abound in the development of upstream gas fields with a total of 37.4 trillion cubic feet,Trans-Nigeria gas pipeline project , Gas Revolution Industrial Park at Ogidigben FTZ , three power plants for additional 3.2GW capacity,licensing and establishment of several modular refineries , collocating a refinery within Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company ,rehabilitation/upgrade of the refineries ,revamp of Liquefied Petroleum Gas and building of new CNG plants across the country as well as pipeline and storage tank construction.
The DPR’s boss,who was represented by its deputy manager,gas exploration and production,Josephn Ogunsola, said Nigeria must leverage its Gas potentials to enlarge the national cake for sustainable development of the country.
He said:’’The National Gas Policy, Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Program and Gas Network Code are key enablers in charting our path towards Optimum Gas Development and Gas-Based Industrialisation.Most of the erstwhile constraints are being addressed in a holistic manner through government policies, reforms, and gas monetisation drive.Hitherto, absence of robust legislative, physical and commercial structures for gas and mono product nature of economy have militated against the achievement of gas utilisation
He emphasized the need for stakeholders in the nation’s economy to shun blame blame game over the lingering incidence of gas flaring in the country,saying Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Program remains the best panacea to stop flaring in Nigeria
The director,who disclosed that over 170 flare locations spread across the Niger Delta ,reiterated that achieving zero flares in Nigeria by 2020 will require up to USD 3 billion in investments.He added that the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme (NGFCP) will ensure positive impact to communities in the Niger Delta and monetize wasted gas resources in Nigeria
According to him:’’Elimination of flared gas is a win for all parties across Nigeria .There is need to Promote collaboration between private, public, and social sectors with a view to ensuring a commercially viable investments with positive returns and minimise government’s action to streamline implementation’’
He reiterated federal government’s aspirations to grow oil and gas reserves to 40 billion barrels and 200 trillion cubic feet by 2020 and promote domestic gas supply sufficiency in the country
He added that the government is not leaving unturned to boost domestic crude refining capacity by 50%,promote full price deregulation and liberalisation and create enabling environment for integrated petroleum products/ gas distribution networks .
In his remarks,Country Manager,Nigeria,Sasol Chemicals ,Oscar Mdluli,emphasized the need for Nigeria to make the abundance of its gas potential centerpiece of its economic growth.He also lauded the roles the DPR is playing in repositioning