Damilola Shittu – Abuja
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited and its joint partners have signed a gas supply and aggregation agreement that will support the 140-megawatts Aba Integrated Power Project in Abia State.
The agreement, which is between the SPDC, Geometric Power Aba Limited, and Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria, was signed on Friday in Abuja, according to a statement.
By the agreement, SPDC will supply gas from the SPDC joint venture gas plant in Imo River traversing Abia and Rivers states to the power producer, Geometric Power Aba Limited, via a gas pipeline network already installed.
“This is a further demonstration of our commitment to supporting Nigeria’s industrialisation through gas,” the Managing Director, SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor, said.
Okunbor, who was represented by SPDC’s General Manager, Business and Government Relations, Bashir Bello, said, “For more than 50 years, Shell has been in the forefront of the campaign to develop and monetise Nigeria’s huge gas resources and it is good to see more players joining the fray to grow the gas market and help improve lives and the earnings in Nigeria.”
Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, described the Aba IPP as a potential catalyst for opening up the Aba market for economic growth.
Represented by his Special Adviser on Fiscal Strategy, Dr Tim Okon, he said the government was determined to ensure commercial sustainability of any such project with the potential to grow the gas market.
The Chief Executive Officer, GAPL, Prof. Bath Nnaji, said the project was structured to incentivise gas suppliers to invest in gas production for the domestic market.
