Minister assures FG's commitment to gas projects, industrialization, commercialisation

Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo met with a group from the Brass Petrochemical and Gas Project in Bayelsa State on Friday.

The team, led by Managing Director Chief Ben Okoye and NNPC Ltd's Chief Gas and Power Investment Officer Dr. Salihu Jamari, examined several project aspects.

In a statement, Ekpo underlined the government's commitment to supporting private sector investments aimed at releasing the country's gas potential for the benefit of the economy and residents as a whole.

He emphasised the need for tight coordination between SPDC JV and the Brass Petrochemical and Gas Project developers to ensure a continuous gas supply, which is consistent with President Bola Tinubu's ambition for gas-based investments and industrialization.

“The feeling of Mr President is that anything that has to do with gas production, commercialisation and industrialisation should be encouraged and given priority; I would like the two sectors to be more cordial,” Ekpo said.

Ben Okoye, managing director of the Brass Methanol project, notified the minister that the project's gas and methanol components had been separated to function as independent projects.

He promised that the project would be completed by the first quarter of 2027 and that work would start in March of the current year, pending Brass Petrochemical Board approval.

He said that to increase gas availability even further, the gas pipelines from Train 1 to Train 3 have been intended to be enlarged. The pipeline is intended to carry 980 mmscf, he claimed, even though the gas plant's initial capacity will be 340 million standard cubic feet (mmscfd).

The Minister was given assurance by SPDC representative Ed Ubong that the organisation is committed to the project and will meet its gas delivery responsibilities.

Frank Nweke Jr., a former minister of information and communications and board member of the Brass Petrochemical project, has called for stronger political leadership from the government to see the project through given the benefits of creating jobs for Nigerian citizens, generating additional revenue for government coffers, and making forex available.