The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has called for an expedited action on the repair of the strategic terminal operated by Shell, and the activation of an alternative process to ameliorate the gas supply deficit.
Speaking over the
weekend when he visited the Forcados Terminal in Delta State, Prof. Osinbajo
accompanied by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, said President Muhammadu Buhari was
concerned about the damage done to the terminal in February and asked him to
visit and assess the situation which has been responsible for the recent drop
in electricity supply in the country.
The president, he
said, was equally concerned that the gas projects under the disposal of Shell
meant to beef up domestic supply of gas in the country needed to be speedily
completed.
Osinbajo who met on
Friday with top officials of Shell that runs the terminal and senior NNPC
officials after they flew over the location of the terminal told the officials
that “what is going on here affects the Nigerian people and the economy”.
“The damage done to
Forcados affects our oil earnings but also as important is the power aspect. It
(Forcados)-is a major source of gas, about 40% of our gas supply is affected
leading to the problem of power supply in the country,” the Vice President said
to Shell officials led by Country Chairperson, Mr. Osagie Okunbor and NNPC
officials led by Mr. Bello Rabiu, the Chief Operating Officer for Upstream.
Prof. Osinbajo said at
a point few months ago power supply in the country had peaked at an
unprecedented 5000MV, but had now dropped significantly, including instances of
system collapses, showing that this is “a real problem.”
According to him, “I
came here on the instruction of the President who is concerned about the damage
done to Forcados. I came here to see for myself and underscore the great
implication for the nation’s economy. Many people don’t even know that power
supply is hampered by what is going on here.”
While expressing
gladness at the seriousness of purpose he observed from the plans drawn up by
Shell and NNPC, the Vice President asked Shell to do “whatever else can be done
and do it as expeditiously as possible,” to repair the damaged terminal.
A repair plan
presented to the Vice President during the visit by Shell indicated that the
repair work which is in three phases is about concluding its first phase with
expectation that the repair would be concluded in May-next month. Meanwhile,
NNPC also presented an interim alternative plan to supply gas to the plants
including trucking condensate.
He expressed the
concern of the federal government that IOCs that seat on 80% of gas deposits in
the country have not been as forthcoming regarding gas supply to the domestic
market.
Prof Osinbajo
encouraged the IOCs to do a lot more for domestic gas supply considering the
gas supply problems in the country, stressing that “we are clearly suffering in
terms of domestic supply.”
For instance, he cited
the need for Shell to speedily complete the Bonga and Forcados/Yokri gas
projects in order to assuage the plight of the Nigerian people.
According to him, “the
president is particularly concerned about this outstanding gas projects.”
“The Bonga Gas
Diversion project would provide 120mmscf/d when completed by the second quarter
of this year, while the Forcados/Yokri gas project would provide 80mmscf/d at
completion expected at the same timeline. There is also the Assa North/Ohaji
South project which can also provide 500mmscf/d.”
Experts say currently,
gas production into domestic network in the country has fallen to 601mmscf/d
from usual 1.1bcf/d.
The implication is
that the country is now loosing about half a billion cf/d, which roughly
accounts for about 2000MW of electricity.
Speaking after a
chopper flight over the terminal and a briefing session on efforts to repair
the damage by top Shell and NNPC officials, the Vice President later told
reporters that “the damage done to Forcados terminal is the chief reason for
the poor power supply that has affected the country recently.”
Prof. Osinbajo, also
disclosed that pipeline vandalism which damaged the Forcados Terminal has led
to low supply of gas, meaning most of the power plants are not functioning to
maximum capacity.
“We went to Forcados
to see for ourselves the sabotage done to our pipelines. The damage done has
led to low supply of gas and most of the power plants are not functioning to
maximum capacity”, the VP stated.
Addressing journalists
after inspection of the extent of damage caused by vandalism at the Forcados in
Brutu local Government Area of Delta State, Vice President Osinbajo was however
optimistic, saying “We have seen the alternative steps that the NNPC is taking
in order to ameloriate the damage that has been done and the problem associated
with getting gas from that terminal to all of our plants.”
He disclosed further
that “there are efforts being made by the federal and state governments as well
as communities to tackle current vandalism challenges”, adding that government
is also looking beyond the present situation into what can be done in the
future.”
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