FG declares Kwale Gas hub strategic to national aspirations
Federal government has declared the 300 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFd) Kwale Gas Gathering (KGG) hub the key instrument for meeting the country’s twin economic and environmental aspirations.
The gas gathering and processing hub is developed by indigenous Xernegi, a unit of the Oilda Energy Group, with funding and policy supports from the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The KGG provides commercially viable gas monetization and flare reduction opportunities to a cluster of small onshore oilfields in Niger Delta.
Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr Omatsola Ogbe, said harnessing flare gas for monetization remains the most viable route to delivering on the country’s goals on enhanced economic growth and environmental responsibility.
Engr Ogbe, who spoke at the commissioning of the facility in Ndokwa East council area of Delta State on Thursday, pointed out that the processing hub would also deliver on governments string of initiatives on deepening internal demand penetration and growing the domestic gas market.
He pointed out that the KGG is conceived to monetize natural gas from contiguous oilfields through gathering, compression, injection and metering infrastructure.
“It allows companies in the area to end routine gas flares” and inject the gas in the OB-3 trunkline for economic and environmental goals.
Engr Ogbe said the NCDMB took investment interest in the KGG in line with it’s mandate to support initiatives that foster national capacity development.
“This project is a major accomplishment of our development mandate under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act, more especially in Section 70 (H).
He said the NCDMB has partnered over 15 indigenous companies in various strategic projects to actualize government’s aspirations in key areas of the petroleum industry.
He explained that the strategy ties into part of the agency’s mandate to assist local contractors and Nigerian companies to further generate economic value for the country through local job delivery.
He clarified that the agency’s investment partnership with local companies yields several benefits including local job creation, valorization of natural resources, and ending routine gas flares at petroleum production sites.
On direct benefits from the strategic investment partnerships with the private sector, Engr Ogbe counted a N450 million dividend from Wsltersmith Refinery and another $1.0 million returns from Nedogas in 2023 alone.
In pledging the commitment of the NCDMB to continue supporting companies and opportunities that support the growth of in-country capacity, Engr Ogbe declared that the partnership with Xernegi demonstrates the availability of local skill sets and indigenous geniuses for local project delivery.
He announced that the local content score of the Nedogas project exceeded the target 70 percent.
