The project, she said, is being executed by the Central Horizon Gas Company (CHGC), a Special Purpose Vehicle set up by Oando and the Rivers State Government, which is focused on the rehabilitation, operation and expansion of the existing natural gas distribution network in Greater Port Harcourt City and the Trans-Amadi area.
The pipeline will boost BUA’s productivity, provide substantial cost-savings, and open the state to a new wave of industrialization via natural gas utilisation.
According to her: “This expansion is on the back of Oando’s agreement through its midstream subsidiary, Oando Gas & Power (OGP) with the Rivers State Government to assume the operation and expansion of the states existing gas infrastructure in the greater Port Harcourt industrial areas. The agreement was signed in August 2011 by Mr. Mobolaji Osunsanya, Chief Executive Officer, OGP and the then Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Dr. George Nwolu. The agreement followed the company’s successful participation in a tender process by the state government to actualise its gas master plan. The objective was to find a qualified private sector partner to operate, rehabilitate and expand the state’s gas distribution grid for the purpose of utilizing gas as a catalyst for industrial development in the state.’’
Oando’s holistic gas integration strategy includes methods of transmission and distribution to fulfil market requirements while the gestation period for the implementation of the Nigerian Gas Master Plan elapses. The company has developed over 260km of gas pipelines across the country and is also a vested player in the virtual pipeline market through a Compressed Natural Gas facility in Lagos and an ongoing Mini LNG development in Ajaokuta.
The company’s pioneering 20-mmscf/day liquefaction plant in Ajaokuta is primarily directed towards fulfilling the gas supply requirement for captive power plants, embedded generation, and industrial clusters in the Northern region, as well as stranded customers in the South. Off-takers, particularly, power plants and industrial customers who currently utilise liquid fuels such as diesel and LPFO, will be able to lower energy costs by up to 40 percent, while significantly decreasing carbon emissions.
The company is also spearheading several long-term projects including a 400km Southwest to Northwest gas pipeline and a Central Processing Facility (CPF), which will serve as the primary gas gathering, and processing hub in the Niger Delta.
In its determination to build Africa’s largest sub-Saharan natural gas pipeline grid, Oando is creating access to thousands of industries in the nation’s quest to leverage gas to drive industrialisation on a large scale. The company provides gas and power solutions to over170 industrial and commercial customers nationwide ensuring cost-savings across the board, powering economic development, and engendering environmental awareness.
Though Nigeria boasts of proven natural gas reserves of 187 trillion cubic feet (TCF), the 8th largest in the world and the largest in Africa, the gas industry has stalled in realizing its true potential due to a number of challenges including the lack of a suitable long-term fiscal and regulatory framework, insufficient infrastructure, sabotage in the Niger Delta, and slow market consolidation.