CHIKE OJUKWU

Oil giant, Shell Oil and Gas Nigeria, stated that 2,400 Megawatts electricity equivalent is expected to be produced from its new gas supply project.

The country chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria and the Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), Mr. Osagie Okunbor said the development project which is ongoing in Assa North/Ohaji South, Imo State is expected to generate 600 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, is equivalent to 2400 Megawatts and enough to provide uninterrupted electricity to about 2.4 million homes. He stated this at the media launch of the 2019 Shell in Nigeria Briefing Notes held in Lagos, an annual publication detailing the activities of Shell companies in Nigeria covering SPDC, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Petroleum Company (SNEPCo), Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) and Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).

Okunbor said, the project will satiate Nigeria's quest for energy sufficiency as well as continuous supply of local content development as part of its contribution to economic growth and development. Giving a breakdown of the gas production, Okunbor said 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day would be processed at a new gas processing plant owned by the SPDC Joint Venture while the remaining 300 million will go to a proposed gas processing plant by SEPLAT Petroleum. He added that the SPDC and its joint venture partners - NNPC, Total and Agip, would continue to explore other areas of support for the expansion of domestic gas supply.

The operations of Shell Companies in Nigeria have impacted directly on driving economic activity in Nigeria as more jobs have been created in communities were they operate by utilizing Nigerian service companies and strengthening Nigerian contracting capacity. In 2018, about $1.3 billion was spent by shell companies in Nigeria on contracts with Nigerian companies.

According to SPDC's General Manager External Relations, In 2018, approximately 10% of the country's domestic gas was supplied by the SPDC JV, chiefly for power generation and about 13% of the nation's grid connected electricity was supplied via the Afam VI power plant, which has a 650-Megawatt generating capacity. Also, about 100 industrial and commercial customers in Ogun, Rivers and Abia majorly, were supplied natural gas from SNG, used for power generation and production by industries.

SPDC and SNEPCo contributed to economic growth, by paying N515.14 billion in taxes, royalties and levies to the Federal Government in 2018. They paid N39.58 billion to the Niger Delta Development Commission as well as disbursed N44.36 billion for various community driven projects and N17.03 billion on social investment projects.

The event was also attended by, the SNEPCo's Managing Director, Bayo Ojulari, SNG's Managing Director, Ed Ubong and Strategy/Value Assessment Manager, Tunde Adams.