WIEN hails Tetracore Energy Group over inauguration of gas facilities in Ogun

[By VICTOR NZE]

Advocacy and professional group in the oil and gas sector, the Women In Energy Network (WIEN), Friday, hailed the indigenous midstream gas firm in the country, Tetracore Energy Group Limited as it officially inaugurated two of its facilities to address gas supply gaps in the country.

The ceremony performed by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo included the commissioning of the company’s Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) facility and the groundbreaking of its Liquefied Natural (LNG) plant, all located in Atakabo community of Ogun State.

The WIEN contingent which turned out in numbers to grace the occasion and show support for the gas company was led by the group’s Director of Media & Publicity, Mrs Obi Onyema, and had four other top members, including Engr. Patricia Opene-Odili, Yetunde Odejobi and Blessing Edet, the Research Assistant at WIEN.

The WIEN members who beamed with satisfaction at the facility, praised the Tetracore boss, Mr Olalekan Olakunle Williams for the feat achieved in his 15 years as a player in the gas industry.

The women also toured the facility in company of the minister, Hon Ekpo and other high profile guests at the ceremony who included the Managing Director, NNPC Gas Marketing Limited’, Chief Justin Ezeala, representatives of the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), and those of Ogun and Lagos states governors, as well as, other industry stakeholders.

According to Engr. Opene-Odili, it is facilities like these that can address the critical gaps in the supply chain currently experienced in the country, as she also expressed the hope that the gas value be expanded further with Nigerians taking more initiative in that direction.

Tetracore Energy Group Limited is a Corporate Member of WIEN, which allows its personnel to actively participate at the women group’s advocacy programmes in the energy sector.

The newly-commissioned Tetracore’s CNG facility sited in Atakabo, along the Ogun axis of the busy Benin-Sagamu Expressway, is a 3.1MMscf/d (84, 000scm/d) CNG processing plant expected to support gas availability along the country’s south western, south-southern and south eastern corridors serving industrial clusters in the regions.

The small-scale CNG facility is further expandable to 6.2 MMscf/d, with further room for expansion as demand increases.

Similarly, the Tetracore CNG facility is sited along the NNPC Gas Marketing Limited’ NGML) pipeline connection point which sources the commodity from the Escravos-Lagos Pipelines (ELPs) that further ensures sufficient and reliable pressure for the effective production and distribution of the product to target customers.

Commissioning the 3.1MMscfd CNG and the 5.2MMscfd LNG facilities, the minister of State, commended Tetracore Energy Group for its vision and commitment to advancing Nigeria’s gas infrastructure, noting further that ‘the development of CNG and LNG facilities are a critical component of our national strategy to diversify energy sources, promote cleaner fuels, and ensure energy security for our people.’

According to the minister, “these projects will drive economic growth, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for our citizens. Additionally, the use of CNG in transportation will reduce our reliance on imported fuels and lower greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with our commitments to the Paris Agreement and our national climate goals.

Ekpo who described the ground-breaking of the proposed LNG facility as ‘another remarkable achievement,’ noted that the commodity ‘offers a versatile and efficient means of transporting natural gas over long distances, making it accessible to regions that are not connected to gas pipelines.’

“This facility will play a crucial role in expanding our in-country processing capabilities as well as delivering feedstock to gas based industries around the country,” the minister said.

Ekpo, therefore, expressed the confidence that Tetracore Energy Group’s projects ‘will serve as a catalyst for further investments in the gas industry, fostering innovation and enhancing our energy infrastructure. It is through such initiatives that we can achieve our shared vision of a prosperous energy future for Nigeria.’

On his part, the CEO of Tetracore Energy Group, Mr Williams, stressed that having dedicated most of professional life ‘to driving the expansion of natural gas infrastructure in Nigeria, including over 15 years of experience in the energy sector, ‘I am passionate about seeing Nigeria realize its full potential.’

“This passion has led to the formation of two successful energy ventures and the leadership of a team of energy professionals, all with the singular goal of impacting value and driving energy sustainability across Nigeria and Africa’s energy value chain,” he said.

On the gas facility being inaugurated, Williams said it addresses critical challenges in Nigeria’s current energy infrastructure, as, according to him, the country still needs approximately $10 billion (about $47 per person in Nigeria) to provide sustainable and accessible energy for its 200 million population, adding further that this infrastructure gap prompted his company ‘to recognize the need to take proactive steps.’

“Tetracore has built a reputation and experience in the delivery of piped natural gas. However, we realized the need to address the needs of customers in stranded locations without access to existing piped natural gas delivery infrastructure.

“The CNG facility we are commissioning today is a state-of-the-art compressed natural gas satellite complex housing a 10 million standard cubic feet per day gas delivery facility, a 2.1-megawatt power generation plant, 6.1 million standard cubic feet per day compressed natural gas delivery, and loading facility as well as an ultra modern staff accommodation and administrative facility,” Williams stated.