From the Managing Director (MD), Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari came the assurances of adequate gas delivery to the citizenry.

Speaking during the unveiling ceremony of the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN) new logo and identity in Abuja, Kyari explained that the NNPCL is determined to work with stakeholders in the gas sector to achieve the goal.

He said, “We will deliver gas into the domestic market to create that spark that our country needs to create the revolution that everybody is waiting for. To bring the recognition that we are a gas country with associated oil, now we are ready for business.

“And this business means that we have to create the infrastructure that will deliver gas to the domestic market.We have to create the market. That can only happen if there is appropriate pricing for gas.

“We will not enjoy anything unless we have the right pricing of Gas, so that people can pay their bills, they will be able to pay for the gas they take and then we are also able to produce the gas that comes into the market.

“And these connections are very critical at this phase in our country. As we all know, all the conversations around energy transition is about adopting, even at the last Cop gas as transition fuel.

“You can say anything, but get it done.And except we work together to create the infrastructure that is required and the market that will take the gas and then the economy that will be able to pay for it, and ultimately we see that value that the gas industry can create for our country.

“And we the NNPCL, we recognize our role, we understand our involvements from upstream all the way to the filling stations or where that ends,and we know the critical role that we have to play, and that’s why we took increased interest in the GACM by also elevating our presence in the company by scaling from 30 to 40 percent.

“So that ultimately we can bring anything on the table and then we can now meet the aspirations of our government to create this new hope that Mr President is focused on. Not just hope, hope that can now be implemented, executed.

“We now know that it is practical. And just today, we signed a shareholders agreement for the frontier energy projects, that will bring in N1.8 billion per annum of production.

“But, we are not going to stop there. We have a number of other initiatives. Now they have a connection.They have to also create the markets for the exports. We’ll get there. We have plans ultimately, but we are not there. But we know that there are initiatives we are pushing to have additional LNG projects, reviving abandoned, fixed LNG projects.

“We are working.We don’t want to speak about it, we don’t want to mention names or locations. But, we know that this is work in progress and they are very very realizable. It is a combination of many things that are happening.”

The Minister of Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekporikpo Ekpo said, the historic occasion is not just for GACN but for the entire Nigerian gas sector.

He said, “The rebranding and expansion of GACN’s mandate symbolises a transformative state towards actualizing the federal government of Nigeria’s ambitious vision for gas penetration nationwide in line with the already existing and legal policies to create a thriving domestic gas sector that will contribute to national development.

“The GACN has consciously grown its portfolio from single facilitation of gas supply agreement to nurturing the growth of the domestic gas market. This role has been pivotal in shaping Nigeria’s gas sector.

“A new identity and expanded mandate of GACN I believe will further reinforce its position as a key catalyst in the industry”.

Speaking, the CEO, Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engineer Farouk Ahmed said, the company was given a licence by the agency to operate an expanded mandate in the domewtic gas sector.

He said, “In line with Section 153 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021 that provides for authority in the NMDPRA to “open approval on application and payment of prescribe fees grant and issue a domestic gas operations license.

“In line with the above, the ‘Gas Aggregator Company of Nigeria Ltd/Get (Limited By Guarantee) application for domestic gas operations license was approved after due considerations and upon fulfilment of the specific requirements.”
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