THE Federal Government has concluded arrangements to introduce gas network code to guide access to gas transmission network, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has said.
At the signing ceremony of gas supply agreement between the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) on one hand, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Total, Chevron, Agip, and Shell Petroleum on the other, the minister said the first set of stakeholders made up of 25 persons drawn from the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and PHCN will undergo a week training in London next week on the operations of the Network Code.
She said the training would be extended to other players training in the sector soon.
The agreement will ensure that over 70 per cent of the total gas needs of the entire power sector is met.
The minister, who described the signing of the agreement as a "critical milestone," explained that the package was significant because it is between PHCN and top players in the gas sector.
She added: "In essence, having fully negotiated the terms between these joint ventures (JVs) and an anchor power plant - Egbin, we are now in a position to rapidly replicate these agreements across all other power plants that will be supplied by these JVs namely Olorunshogo, Sapele, Omotosho, Alaoji and Delta."
Alison-Madueke said the time it took to negotiate the agreement was not wasted because it would serve as a guide for about 70 per cent of agreements in the sector such that a lot of other Gas Supply and Purchase Agreements (GSPAs) will be executed in rapid succession from this point on.
"This is an incredible achievement and I am so proud that we are in that position now. Bearing in mind that the power sector is the largest domestic consumer of gas, this event essentially indicates that we have significantly graded the Nigerian domestic gas sector to world class levels as over 70 per cent of the market will very shortly be underpinned by world class bankable agreements," the minister stated.
Also in furtherance of the bid to transform Nigeria into a veritable gas nation and use the vast resources as a catalyst for industrial growth, Alison-Madueke announced a steady progress in the process of actualizing the petrochemical and fertiliser plants, whose agreements were signed a few months ago.
On the gas-propelled projects meant to bring about industrial revolution and massive job creation in the country, the minister said the negotiation of the GSPA between Chevron and the Indian fertiliser conglomerate, Nagarjuna Corporation, had been finalised. She said this would pave way for the commencement of the next stage of the fertiliser plant project.
She said a group of representatives from NNPC, Chevron, Xenel of Saudi Arabia were now in Houston with the consultant, Kellogs, looking into details at the conceptual engineering options for the projects for the building of petrochemical plants and central processing facilities.
"You can see that we are indeed marching on to deliver on Mr. President's commitment to the Nigerian people. All these together will assure gas supply to the power sector in a sustainable manner and more importantly ensure that the journey towards the creation of over 500,000 jobs as promised by Mr. President has begun in earnest," she explained.
The Minister of State for Power, Nuhu Wya, expressed the readiness of his ministry to partner with the Petroleum Ministry and the JV partners to ensure that the GSPA was executed in line with international best practices.
The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Austen Oniwon, promised to work with other stakeholders to develop capability to manage and operationalise the gas supply agreements.
He also promised to get the investment arm of the corporation, NAPIMS, to prioritise the funding of gas supply projects.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary, Petroleum Alhaji Sheik Goni has attributed the oil sector stability under President Jonathan to the expert handling of the ministry of petroleum by Mrs. Alison Madueke.
In a sttement yesterday, Goni said ''the Ministry under the watch of Mrs. Diezeani Alison Madueke in the past one year has accomplished key milestones that have impacted positively on the lives of the citizens as well as the national economy."
Among the visible achievements of Mrs. Alision Madueke, according to him, are the sustenance of steady fuel supply, the passage and speedy implantation of the Nigerian Content Development Act, increased production of crude oil and the aggressive pursuit of reforms and the passage of the Petroluem Industry bill.
It is also to the Minister credit, Goni further averred, that under her watch, the country witnessed swell in the attraction of foreign investors in the sector.
'' Mrs madueke has been very conscious of the pivotal role the oil and gas sector plays in the Nigerian economy and has done everything to ensure that the atmosphere in the industry is conducive to increase and sustain inflow of investments," the statement further said.
Among the key investors during the period under review are the Chinese largest engineering company the China state Consturction Engineering Corporation, CSCEC, which signed an MOU with the NNPC for the construction of three Greenfield Refineries in the country; another MOU with a Saudi Arabian firm Xenel for the construction of a Petrochemical plant under the Gas Revolution programme aimed at industrializing the country and creating employment for the teeming unemployed Nigerian youths.
Source: Govt, Oil Firms Renew Bid To Boost Power Supply (http://ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49476:govt-oil-firms-renew-bid-to-boost-power-supply&catid=1:national&Itemid=559)