Geometric to fire up 188 MW in February
Sopuruchi Onwuka
Nigeria’s first private integrated power firm, Geometric Power Limited, is to fully activate full value power generation and distribution operations next month when it is expected to start receiving lean gas supplies from the Nigerian Exploration and Production Company (NEPC) Limited.
Geometric, which owns Aba Power Limited, is to receive natural gas supplies through a 27 kilometer conduit from Owaza operations of the NEPCL in Ukwa West Local Government Area in Abia to fire the 188 megawatt power plant in the Osisioma Industrial Layout in Aba.
Commercial is to be supplied from oil and gas production and processing facilities in Oil Mining Licence (OML) 17 operated by NEPC Limited in a joint venture with Heirs Holding Company.
Chairman of Geometric Power Limited, Prof Barth Nnaji, told The Oracle Today that the dream of the company is to provide uninterrupted electricity supply and reduce cost burden on industrial and commercial customers of the company who currently augment grid power supply with micro self generation.
The GPL’s generation plants have since been completed and await the supply end for fuel gas to fire up.
Prof Nnaji expressed the hope of reliable gas supply from the NEPC Limited, pointing out that the parent Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) now runs with the professionalism and efficiency of the private sector.
He told visiting KSE engineers and investment partners from Turkey that the perception of NNPC Limited has changed.
“The new NNPCL is not working like a state-owned enterprise noted in Nigeria for ineffectiveness and inefficiency”, the former minister declared, “but rather like professionals from Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, and the rest.”
The Oracle Today reports that commissioning of GPL’s generation plants delayed die to inadequate gas gathering investments by previous operator of the OML 17, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) Nigeria Limited.
The NEPCL took over operatorship of the asset upon divestment of the commercial interests of Shell, Total and Agip by Heirs Holdings.
Under the new operator, gas specification demanded by GPL would be pure, unadulterated dry gas for sustainable uptime and uninterrupted power supply to nine of the 17 local government areas in Abia State.
