Shell Adds Capacity in Nigeria
Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) has increased its gas distribution capacity by 150% after completing its Agbara-Ota pressure reduction and metering station project in Ogun State, an oil and gas producing area in southwest Nigeria.
SNG said early June that the project will enable the partners to achieve regular gas supply to industries in Ogun State while efforts are ongoing to reach more industrial parks and manufacturing companies in the states of Lagos (southwest), Bayelsa and Rivers (south) and Imo (southeast).
SNG boss Ed Ubong said ultimately over 1 GW of energy will be supplied to various industrial parks and manufacturing companies in the country after Shell has expanded its gas distribution network to other states.
Shell said it was committed to supporting the federal government's aspiration to grow the domestic gas market and would invest in infrastructure if the commercial conditions were right. It said it would develop domestic gas projects that will be "major game-changers in Nigeria's quest for cleaner energy sufficiency, industrialisation and economic growth."
Shell has signed contracts with customers in industrial estates in Bayelsa State, close to the Gbaran-Ubie gas facility, for offtake of gas from the Assa-North gas project in Imo state.
SNG completed the first phase of its pipeline expansion in Abia State, connecting manufacturing industries in the area directly to pipeline gas.
SNG will also deliver pipeline gas to the independent power project consortium (IPP) that provides electricity to the busy Ariaria market in Abia State. It is one of the largest open stall markets in West Africa, with over 40,000 shops.
The Aba IPP is the first independent and integrated power utility in Nigeria, It comprises a 141-MW gas-fired power plant, a 27-km gas pipeline and a distribution utility, operated by Geometric Power.
Phase 1 of the Ariaria IPP project was commissioned by the president Muhammadu Buhari in January 2019 and the IPP provides electricity to over 4,000 shops.