Eni Mulls Doubling of Nigerian Gas-Fired Plant
Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi set out his vision for African energy development at the IEA on April 15, but also spoke about how his company may expand its existing gas-fired power generation there further.
Speaking at the event webcast from Paris, he even suggested that governments in Europe should consider giving tax reliefs for oil and gas firms that implement sustainable or renewable power projects in Africa, just as they provide tax relief on petroleum exploration costs back home, on the basis that African power generates a lower return on investment than their export-focused projects.
In Nigeria, Eni invested in a 480-MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant in the early 2000s in the Niger Delta. Descalzi said Eni is now studying the possibility of doubling this plant’s capacity (to 960 MW).
An existing Eni-run, 300-MW CCGT unit at Pointe Noire (Congo-Brazzaville) is already being expanded to 450 MW, he added, and in future could be doubled to 900 MW.
Eni supplied 18mn people with power in these two countries at an investment cost of $2bn in the plants and local grids, and now plans to build such CCGTs in Mozambique and Angola too.
In Libya, Eni supplies 4bn m3/yr to the country's power plants -- equivalent to half the 8bn m3-plus/yr Libyan gas that it and state NOC export to Italy.
Descalzi lamented that 48% of Africa’s energy use today is met by biomass, and that 90% of the population of 23 out of sub-Saharan Africa’s 42 countries is reliant on it. “Biomass is a huge problem,” he said which causes 4mn premature deaths worldwide each year.
A top priority across Africa should be that governments there build an energy model that can support demographic change and improve quality of life, said Descalzi, outlining three priorities: more use of hydrocarbons, especially gas, for domestic consumption; more use of renewable resources; and developing energy infrastructure, including off-grid solar for remote areas.
Mark Smedley