…Project to unlock 2.3 billion cubic feet daily capacity of Escravos-Lagos pipeline

President Bola Tinubu has called on international oil companies operating in Nigeria to give indigenous engineering firms greater opportunities in major energy projects, declaring that his administration’s Nigeria First policy must translate into more local contracts, jobs and industrial growth.

The President’s position comes as indigenous engineering company, Lee Engineering Group, completes the construction of two midline compressor stations designed to enable the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) to deliver up to 2.3 billion standard cubic feet of gas daily.

President Tinubu who spoke while receiving the company’s Founder and Chairman, Chief Leemon Ikpea, at the State House, Abuja, reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to unlocking Nigeria’s gas potential to strengthen electricity supply, power industries, create jobs and increase export earnings.
He said competent Nigerian companies with proven technical capacity should be given greater opportunities to participate in strategic energy infrastructure projects, stressing that local content development must go beyond policy declarations to deliver tangible economic benefits.

Lee Engineering is undertaking the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of the two compressor stations in Edo State. The facilities are expected to provide the additional pressure required to move larger volumes of gas through the pipeline following the ELPS II expansion, which raised its designed capacity from 1.1 billion to 2.3 billion standard cubic feet per day.
The compressor stations are critical to translating the pipeline’s expanded design capacity into increased gas deliveries to power plants and industrial users along the corridor.
The project is also expected to support additional gas supplies to neighbouring West African countries through the West African Gas Pipeline, potentially strengthening regional energy trade and expanding Nigeria’s export earnings.
President Tinubu said the Nigeria First policy was intended to deepen domestic industrial capacity by ensuring that capable Nigerian companies secured more contracts, locally manufactured equipment gained wider acceptance and more skilled jobs were created for Nigerians.

He urged international oil companies to establish stronger partnerships with indigenous engineering and manufacturing firms that had demonstrated the ability to execute complex projects to industry standards.
The President also cited his administration’s 2024 executive orders and directives on local content compliance, contracting costs and approval timelines as measures aimed at attracting investment, reducing bureaucratic delays and creating a more favourable environment for Nigerian businesses.
In his remarks, Ikpea commended the President’s emphasis on local capacity development, saying Nigerian engineering companies had invested significantly in modern equipment, technology and skilled personnel to compete for complex projects previously dominated by foreign contractors.

He disclosed that Lee Engineering’s fabrication yard in Warri, Delta State, was manufacturing some components for the compressor stations and was equipped with advanced fabrication technology.
According to him, the growing technical capacity of indigenous firms demonstrates that Nigerian companies can undertake sophisticated engineering, procurement and construction projects while retaining more expertise, employment opportunities and economic value within the country.
The project underscores the potential of local engineering firms to play a greater role in Nigeria’s gas infrastructure expansion, particularly as the Federal Government seeks to harness the country’s gas resources for domestic industrialisation, improved power generation and regional energy exports.