Nearly a year after President Bola Tinubu launched the ANOH gas processing plant in Imo State, southeast Nigeria, the facility is still not operational. The plant, which was intended to boost the country’s gas exports, remains idle due to the incomplete evacuation pipeline – the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) pipeline. This issue underscores the ongoing infrastructure challenges facing Nigeria’s energy sector.
Effiong Okon, managing director of ANOH Gas, explained, “There is no pipeline to export the gas.” He added, “We’ve been working on this project for the past four or five years. We have an $800 million plant just waiting for OB3. It’s a challenging situation, but eventually, ANOH will overcome it.”
Salahudeen Tahir, head of assets and investments management at NNPC Gas and Power Investment Services, stated that while OB3 is still under construction, it is already transporting gas to the grid. “OB3 still has two kilometers to be built, but it is pushing gas to the grid,” he said.
The ANOH gas processing plant is a joint venture between Seplat Energy and the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). NGIC was tasked with delivering the pipelines needed to transport gas from the ANOH plant to key demand centers, including the 127-kilometer OB3 pipeline. However, the state-owned NGIC has not met its obligations, despite the government’s promise to complete the project by 2017. The deadline has been extended six times.
In February of last year, the government committed to completing OB3 by March 2024. Gas Minister Ekperikpe Ekpo stated that the 127-kilometer pipeline would supply 2 billion cubic feet of gas daily. However, the construction of OB3 has faced significant delays, mainly due to challenges such as horizontal drilling under major rivers and ongoing pipeline vandalism. These issues have severely impacted Nigeria’s gas exports, with the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) firm reporting a 20% drop in exports in January.
Despite these setbacks, Okon affirmed that Seplat will continue investing in Nigeria’s energy sector. “Investors need to take a long-term view and take risks on Nigeria, and that’s what Seplat has done,” he said. He expressed confidence that the OB3 pipeline will be operational by the second quarter of 2025. Additionally, Seplat has secured agreements for condensate exports with energy trading company Vitol and for local liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales in Owerri. The company anticipates generating between $450 million and $700 million in revenue from the ANOH gas processing plant.
Related Topics:
- How Long Will Gas Last with Stabilization? A Comprehensive Analysis
- How Much Natural Gas Does a Whole House Generator Use?
- What Is Lpg Id in Bharat Gas?