Akwa Ibom State is set to expand access to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) across its 10 federal constituencies, with the delivery of the first equipment for a 10 million standard cubic feet per day (10mmscf/d) mother station in Esit Eket Local Government Area.

The project, being developed by Nsik Oil & Gas Company Limited in partnership with the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF), is expected to provide the foundation for a network of daughter stations that will distribute CNG to motorists, businesses and industries across the state.

The first consignment of equipment for the facility at Uquo Isi Edoho arrived at the project site on Thursday from China, moving the project closer to installation and commissioning.
Project Consultant, Mkposong Asuquo, said the equipment, manufactured by China-based Original Equipment Manufacturer, CIMC, included four reciprocating compressors, dehydration and filtration systems, heat exchangers and four generating sets.

He said the equipment followed the successful completion of a Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) in China involving the project team and regulators from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

According to Asuquo, the project site was strategically located near existing gas infrastructure, about 500 metres from Frontier Energy and approximately three kilometres from Savannah Energy’s Accugas facility, from where the project is expected to obtain its gas feedstock.

He said two trailers had also been ordered to transport compressed gas from the mother station to planned daughter stations, allowing the facility to serve consumers beyond the immediate host community.

“Our intention is also to feed most of the vehicles that are already CNG-powered,” Asuquo said, adding that the daughter-station model would expand the market for CNG and support transportation and industrial activities.

He said the project had already passed several critical stages, including land acquisition, site clearing, geotechnical investigations, Environmental Impact Assessment, Front-End Engineering Design, Detailed Engineering Design, regulatory approvals and gas supply arrangements.

Also speaking at the site, Special Adviser to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) on Political Affairs, Kufre Sam, said the Minister had remained interested in the project because of its potential to advance the Federal Government’s CNG initiative in Akwa Ibom.

Sam said the 10mmscf/d facility would serve as a mother station for daughter stations planned across the state’s 10 federal constituencies, bringing CNG infrastructure closer to communities, businesses and industries.

He said the expansion could create direct and indirect employment while supporting businesses involved in transportation, logistics, vehicle conversion and other activities around the daughter stations.

Sam linked the project to the Federal Government’s effort to provide alternatives to petroleum products, saying increased access to CNG could help reduce transportation and production costs.
“That alone will transform to reducing the cost of transportation, reducing the cost of goods, reducing the cost of services,” he said.

Asuquo expressed confidence that the remaining stages would be completed soon, saying stakeholders would return to the site for the commissioning of the facility.

This version keeps the 10-constituency network as the central news, while the Chinese equipment delivery provides the immediate peg and the cost/employment implications give it a stronger national relevance.