*The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited stresses that Nasarawa State is uniquely positioned to maximise value from the AKK pipeline project aside from gas-based business opportunities across the region of the country

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

As part of the Federal Government’s commitment to gas utilisation as a major tool to drive economic development, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN) and Nasarawa State Government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for gas supply to industries and investors in state.

The parties signed the MoU for gas supply Thursday, November 25, 2021, in Lafia, Nasarawa State capital, at the Nasarawa Business Roundtable meeting organised to explore investment opportunities in the gas sector, agency report stated.

LPG gas cylinders

It was learnt that Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, Malam Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC; Malam Mohammed Abdulkabir Ahmed, Group Executive Director, Gas & Power, NNPC Limited; and Mr. Bolaji Osunsanya, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Axxela, among others witnessed the MoU signing ceremony.

Malam Kyari at the forum provided concrete pictorial evidence of the progress being made in regard to the AKK Pipeline Project.

The NNPC Chief also emphasised that Nasarawa State is uniquely positioned to maximise value from the AKK pipeline as well as gas based-business opportunities across the state.

Kyari took the occasion to highlight and appreciate President Muhammadu Buhari’s unwavering commitment to utilising gas as a major tool to drive economic development in Nigeria.

The Business Roundtable appreciated the GMD and current NNPC Management for injecting accountability, transparency and forthrightness into the operating methods of NNPC Limited, report said.

Mr. Olalekan Ogunleye, Managing Director of GACN, in his remark on the MoU signing also said the collaboration between the Nasarawa State Government, NNPC Limited and GACN had defined a clear framework through which investors and projects in the state would access gas immediately.

The GACN Managing Director stated this would be through Virtual Pipeline Solutions (CNG & LNG) ahead of the completion of the AKK pipeline project.

Ogunleye said: “This is a major step in the federal government’s Gas Utilisation Expansion drive being facilitated vigorously by NNPC and GACN.

“This MoU sets out clear deliverables that are time bound based on securing gas both on short, medium and long term basis on competitive terms.

“As could be recalled, similar MoUs were signed with Kano and Kaduna States a few months ago, and those engagements have now been progressed to Gas Supply Agreement negotiation stage.”

According to him, “evidently, NNPC Management continues to drive the commercialisation of gas resources as a national economic development issue, while GACN and other NNPC subsidiaries like NGMC, NGC have clear-cut roles and responsibilities to deliver concrete progress and value.”

Governor Sule, therefore, appealed to the indigenes of Nasarawa State to take the opportunities across the gas value chain, such as gas distribution, CNG Stations, captive/embedded power generation, LPG marketing, gas flare commercialisation among others.