Sahara Group, Nigeria’s fastest growing energy power house, has launched its presence in Cote D’Ivoire with SAPET GAS, a subsidiary of the group sailing its Liquefied Petroleum Gas vessel into the West African country.
The vessel, which will be named under Ivorian origin and carry the national flag, made its historic maiden voyage to Cote D’Ivoire recently.
SAPET GAS will enhance butane supply, availability, efficiency and distribution in Cote D’Ivoire to spur economic development and safeguard the well-being of over 28 million Ivorians, being a clean fuel. It will also help facilitate access to the commodity for over 50 million people in neighbouring countries.
Temitope Shonubi, Executive Director, Sahara Group, said facilitating investment in gas infrastructure and supply reinforces the company’s commitment to driving energy transition in Africa. “We are privileged and delighted to work with the government and good people of Cote d’Ivoire to make clean energy accessible to all Ivorians. For Sahara, SAPET GAS is an affirmation of our commitment to Cote d’Ivoire. We made a promise and we have delivered.” he said.
Sahara Group’s partnership with Petroci continues to increase access to gas as a cleaner fuel option with over CFA 279 billion invested since 2014. SAPET’s 12KT LPG storage facility project remains on course. The facility upon completion will promote supply, distribution and access to cleaner fuels in Cote D’Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, among others.
Investments in gas vessels are on the rise globally with a total of 28 new medium and handy gas carriers expected over the next two years with 18 percent of them focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa. The growth in the LPG market is driven by the following factors: low per capita consumption with scope for growth; population growth and urbanization, and potential to substitute kerosene/ biomass in the domestic sector as well as move towards cleaner fuels.
