By Adewale Sanyaolu
Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG), a firm with over 150 companies on its customer list has disclosed that a planned 225 Megawatts Independent Power Plant(IPP) has approached it for a gas supply deal.
Managing Director of SNG, Ed Ubong, says the company has the capacity to supply all the gas needed for the project being promoted by Coodsynergyn Oil West Africa Limited (CS OWA), and to be located in Southwest Nigeria.
“We have signed the heads of terms agreement with CS OWA as a prelude to a potential Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement,” Ubong said recently, adding that the new partnership “will deepen domestic gas utilisation, enhance further industrialisation, and enable local industries to have access to reliable and affordable energy to thrive and create employment opportunities for Nigerians.”
According to the heads of terms agreement, SNG will build the required infrastructure to connect the power plant to the Escravos Lagos Pipeline System for easy access to gas.
General Manager Shell Energy business line in Nigeria, Markus Hector, said the natural gas-fired power project would bring tremendous benefits to the economy by bridging Nigeria’s energy gap as part of the Decade of Gas initiative by the Federal Government.
He said, “Nigeria is an important heartland for Shell, and will remain so. We will continue to invest in the country to help meet its energy needs, with a focus to grow gas positions. SNG as part of the Shell Energy business line is positioned to drive the powering progress strategy by delivering more and cleaner energy to the Nigerian people and businesses.”
Managing Director of CS OWA, Dr Olugbenga Odusanya, said he was excited about the prospect of the new power plant with potential to unlock the domestic gas market and contribute to industrialisation in Nigeria.
Meanwhile ,the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo),has inaugurated a state-of-the-art Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Centre at the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, in Delta State.
The 100-seater one-storey building was built and equipped by the NNPC and SNEPCo partnership to promote research, teaching and learning in a conducive environment.
Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, said “the facility would go a long way in expanding the capacity of the students and staff of the university to compete locally and globally.”