NNPC Ltd is all set to bring about the gas revolution with the OB3 gas pipeline project

●How FG expresses satisfaction with the progress of the project

[Press Release] In another major step towards increasing gas supply nationwide to spur industrialization and economic growth, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) is set to deliver the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben gas pipeline project (OB3).

NNPC Ltd Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, confirmed this on Saturday during an inspection tour of the OB3 pipeline for the Niger River crossing operation in Aboh, Delta State.

By design, the OB3 pipeline is the interconnector connecting the eastern pipeline network to the Escravos-Lagos pipeline system (ELPS) in the west and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline in the north.

The Niger River crossing operation has represented for over three years the main obstacle to the completion of the OB3 strategic gas pipeline due to the failure of the various technologies used to carry out the construction of the 48-inch pipe under the river bed between Ndoni in the state of Rivers and Aboh in Delta State.

But with the adoption of Micro-Tunneling/Direct Pipe Installation technology, the new contractors, HDD Thailand/Enikkom and Tunneling Services Group (TSG), are making progress with around 860 meters of the 1,800 meters achieved so far.

Speaking after the inspection tour, Kyari expressed satisfaction with the breakthrough, which signals the imminent completion of the project.

“This is a large project of monumental value for our country. This means that this is the only way we can achieve the gas revolution. I am very happy and convinced that, by mid-August at the latest, we will complete this project. This was assured to me by the project team,” said Kyari.

On the significance of the project, he said: “Once completed, we will see approximately 2.2 billion standard cubic feet of gas entering our network. We believe this will give our country some breathing space in demand, I am sure we can recover this type of demand in the next year and a half. We are happy that this will provide us with the platform to unleash the gas revolution in our country.”

Also speaking on the project, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas) Resources, Rt Hon Ekperikpe Ekpo, expressed satisfaction with the pace of work in the OB3 Niger River crossing operation, describing it as “Renewed hope at work”.

“I was here last year and saw the work that was going on. There was a promise that it would be completed by December last year. I took it with a doubt. But today, from what I see, I am confident that by July or August it will be completed and commissioned by the President,” the Minister said.

For her part, Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, said she looked forward to the completion of the project as the technical team assured her that the right technology had been found to solve the complex challenges of the Niger River. Crossing.

“As the minister and other speakers have said, we look forward to this project bringing prosperity to Nigerians in the form of electricity and other sectors,” Verheijen said.

The CEO of Tunnel Service Group (TSG), one of the contractors of the project, Mr. Ingo Justen, who is personally on site to supervise the project at the request of the GCEO, expressed confidence that the current technology applied in the execution of the project would lead to its rapid conclusion.

In an earlier presentation, NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC) Managing Director Engr. Seyi Omotowa, disclosed that at the rate of progress with the new technology employed, the Niger River crossing operation, which is the only remaining aspect of the OB3 pipeline project, will be completed on schedule.

Olufemi O. Soneye
Head of corporate communications
NNPC Ltd.
Abuja.
June 22, 2024,

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