Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc has identified its fast-growing gas business as a strong catalyst for sustainable development in Nigeria.

Chief Executive Officer, Seplat, Roger Brown, described this drive as a revolution, indicating that the direction is laudable and highly rewarding to the Nigerian people and the economy at large.

Brown said this at the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) Industry Multilogues 2, its 12th biennial International Conference with the theme: “Powering Forward: Enabling Nigeria’s Industrialisation via Gas” which held virtually.

Speaking on the company’s contributions to the Nigerian Gas industry, Brown said that the company’s new Sapele Gas Plant processing capacity (PC) is 75MMscfd, which is increasing PC in the West to 540MMscfd (Oben and Sapele).

“Seplat currently contributes about 30 per cent of gas to power generation in Nigeria. Its ANOH Project is to add 300MMscfd capacity and unlock over 1,200MW of gas constrained power generation capacity,” he said

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He, however, stressed the need to build institutional capacity to drive and sustain the transition, which is critical to attaining value and wealth advancement.

According to him, the oil firm is strategically positioned to access Nigeria’s main demand centers, with its current well stock delivering 300 – 350MMscfd.

Commenting on some of the challenges bedeviling the gas-to-power drive, Brown said capital intensity; under-investment; delayed delivery of planned gas infrastructure; poor pipeline network; lack of cost reflective tariffs and huge debts in the power sector; lack of clear gas fiscal terms for PSCs and delay in passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), among others, were issues that needs urgent attention.

The Seplat boss also called for the need to drive investments through liquidity pools such as the capital markets, bonds and PFAs as well as exploring a myriad of financing options to provide funding for gas infrastructure projects.

Commending Seplat and other players for their dedication to the growth of the sector, Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, President, NGA, said there was need to continously project and leverage the potential of gas towards enabling and reinvigorating Nigeria’s industrial sector.