223 companies bid for NNPC’s natural gas liquids
Chineme Okafor and Kasim Sumaina in Abuja
The federal government yesterday disclosed that it will in the next four weeks unveil successful bidders among the 240 Statement of Qualification (SOQ) it received from firms willing to end the longstanding practice of gas flare in the country by 2020 through the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP).
This development is coming as no fewer than 223 companies have indicated interest in the bid for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)’s natural gas liquids (NGLs) for 2019 to 2021
The Ministry of Petroleum Resources said yesterday in Abuja that the government was determined to end the notorious practice of flaring gas next year.
A World Bank programme – the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership (GGFR), places Nigeria as the sixth largest gas flaring nation in the world after countries like Russia; Iran; Iraq; United States; and Algeria.
Available data from the GGFR indicated Nigeria flared 7.6 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas in 2017.
But in a statement issued yesterday by the Chairman of the Ministerial Steering Committee of the NGFCP, Mr. Rabiu Suleiman, the 240 SOQs received by the committee in response to the Request for Qualification (RfQ) for the programme would be competitively evaluated and the preferred bidders announced in June.
He further explained that companies adjudged successful would be invited to submit their proposal for flare gas utilisation through the Request for Proposals (RfP) phase of the NGFCP.
According to him, the plan to drastically reduce gas flaring by harnessing otherwise flared gases to stimulate economic growth would drive investments and provide jobs in the Niger Delta through the utilisation of widely available innovative technologies.
He listed some benefits that could come with the NGFCP, saying it will: “Maximise utilisation of associated gas to be treated for supply to power generation or industry, and increase the gas flaring penalty to an appropriate level sufficient to de-incentivise the practice of gas flaring whilst introducing other measures to encourage efficient gas utilisation.”
Meanwhile, no fewer than 223 companies have indicated interest for NNPC’s natural gas liquids (NGLs) for 2019 to 2021.
The corporation opened the NGLs bid in Abuja yesterday, explaining that through a transparent competitive bidding and evaluation process, it intended to enlist companies with proven investments in gas utilisation, storage, distribution and marketing infrastructure.
Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Kacalla Baru, in his welcome address, stated that the occasion marked the beginning of yet another landmark event in the corporation’s bid to maximise the value of Nigeria’s natural gas liquid resources for the benefits of Nigerians and other stakeholders.
Baru noted that as a corporation, “we have 223 companies competing and there are more local participants this time around. Our current pursuit is to continuously grow our domestic gas supply and utilisation while also maximising value from our unutilised knock-off condensates and Natural Gas Liquid resources.”
