Operators in the Nigerian oil and gas sector have tasked the Federal Government to encourage a gas storage facility of at least 90 days’ capacity at every power plant to secure supply.
A renowned international petroleum explorationist, Dr. Ebi Omatsola, at an event in Lagos, emphasised the need for the Federal Government to implement policies that would attract more investment into the gas sector.
He said, “There is the need to set target dates to meet power availability to Nigerian households and businesses. Incentives should be provided to local production of metering systems. There is also the need to convert part of the existing liquefied natural gas locations to sites for the construction of regasification terminals.
“We should also pursue the utilisation of LNG in all spheres of the Nigerian economy, and initiate with the cooperation of the private sector, the availability of power plants and associate gas supply infrastructure in all cities in Nigeria with over one million inhabitants.”
The Chief Executive Officer, Seplat Petroleum Development Company, Dr. Austin Avuru, also insisted that getting the funding for gas projects had remained a major challenge in the sector.
According to him, a fully liberalised pricing regime that would see more stand-alone investments in the entire gas value chain is the way out.
“The high price of gas is caused by inefficiency in the entire gas value chain. If there is efficiency in the upstream, processing and distribution, there will be a drop in price. If the market delivers value to you, you will invest,” he said.
