Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc has said the Assa North-Ohaji South (ANOH) gas and condensate processing plant in Imo State slated to commence operations in 2021, will further boost the power generation in Nigeria by over 1,200 megawatts.
The General Manager, Gas at Seplat, Mr. Okechukwu Mba, disclosed this at the Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) 2020 held in Abuja.
Speaking during a panel session titled: ‘Charting the Way Forward for Gas’ the Seplat GM said strategically the company is positioned to access Nigeria’s main demand centres, adding that current well stock delivery was around 300 Million standard cubic feet per day (Gross).
With over $300 million invested in Oben Gas Plant Expansion Project, which is another gas plant run by Seplat, he said the company currently contributes about 30 per cent of gas to power generation in Nigeria, adding that: “ANOH project has the capacity to unlock over 1,200MW of gas constrained power generation capacity.”
However, despite the huge gas reserves, the country has been unable to translate its resources to effectively boost the economy, Mba said highlighting that the key challenges the industry faces today in translating reserves to value were; lack of adequate infrastructure (constraint on gas transmission distribution); funding constraints for upstream, midstream and downstream sectors; and sub-optimal institutional and regulatory framework including extensive and bureaucratic process for obtaining licenses and approvals, weak corporate governance and policy inconsistencies.
In addition, he said uncertainties around changes in fiscal framework, local community crisis, mismatch in currency (gas revenue in Naira versus costs in United States Dollar), and Domestic Supply Obligation (DSO) gas pricing constraints were prevailing challenges.
The Seplat GM said growth in gas demand was widespread, increasing in some countries and regions; of which the increase is driven in broadly equal amounts by use in power and industry.
He said: “Africa’s natural gas production, demand and exports are poised to accelerate, led by Mozambique, Nigeria and Egypt. Gas is the only fossil fuel expected to grow through 2035. Global gas demand is expected to grow at 0.9 per cent per annum between 2018 – 2035 driven by many regions’ power/gas-intensive industry and China’s residential/commercial sectors citing McKinsey report, 2019.