The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC Ltd) says it is deepening investments in the Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline and OB3 gas interconnector to support five billion standard cubic feet per day domestic gas utilisation.

Mele Kyari, the group chief executive of NNPC, said this in Abuja on Monday at the opening of the sixth edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2023).

President Muhammadu Buhari declared the summit open through Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Mr Kyari explained that the company was also investing in five gigawatts of power generating capacity by developing power plant projects along the AKK pipeline corridor and across the country to complement the existing ones.

The NNPC boss was represented at the event by Mohammed Ahmed, executive vice president, Gas, Power and New Energy, NNPC Ltd.

He said the company would continue to support the federal government to realise key initiatives, such as the Decade of Gas and the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP).

These, he said, sought to deepen natural gas utilisation as an alternative transportation fuel, virtual gas supply to off-pipeline grid gas customers, and gas utilisation as feedstock for developing gas-based industries.

Mr Kyari said this was evident in the actions taken to utilise Compressed Natural Gas and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to power vehicles, buildings and power plants.

“Oil and gas remain a significant component of the global energy mix. Therefore we are unlocking more opportunities across both the oil and gas value chain spanning from supply and infrastructure to the markets,” he said.

Speaking on the gas export market, he said the ongoing Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas company Train Seven would expand Nigeria’s LNG production capacity to about 30 million tonnes per annum (30 MTPA).

He said this was in addition to the planned Nigerian Morocco and the Trans Sahara Gas Pipeline projects, which would supply gas to sub-regional African countries and, subsequently, Europe.

“In addition to our existing upstream activities, we are also deepening exploration activities of the nation’s frontier Basins using the best industry standards and technologies, which is already yielding results such as the Kolmani discovery.

“And we are hopeful that the recent spud-in of the EBENYI – A in Nasarawa State will yield positive results as well.

“NNPC will continue to leverage partnerships with the industry, government, research institutions and the academia to ensure energy security and sustainability,” he said. 

(NAN)