The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, has stated that the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to shift attention from oil-dependence to gas was gradually yielding positive results.
Kachikwu stated this while addressing newsmen after the signing of the Gas Sales and Aggregation Agreement (GSAA) by the NNPC/Total Exploration Production Nigeria Joint Venture, Greenville Oil and Gas Company and the Gas Auto.
According to Kachikwu, the agreement will unlock unbelievable opportunities as the first phase will produce 2200 standard cubic feet, scf, of gas to 5,000 scf.
“President Muhammadu Buhari provided this leadership under the seven big wins. Conversations have been on over the last two-three years.
“Our first step was to set up the Nigerian Gas Management Company and Nigerian Gas Pipeline Transportation Company.
“I am happy that a few months after we launched the gas policy, we are seeing this happening. We want to ensure that the payment issues are dealt with and made on time so there is a good financing for the project,” he said.
He also stressed the need for other investors to come into the sector, saying ”we will see what we can do to move this fairly fast from oil-focused to gas-focused zone”.
Kachikwu admitted that most industries in the North were dying due to the power challenge, he urged the investors to move quickly to help solve the problem.
The Gas Sales Aggregation Agreement will bring an investment of 500 million dollars in the first phase and 350 million dollars in the second phase.
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