Ekpo Mandates Contractors to Complete OB3 Gas Pipeline by December

Peter Uzoho

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr. Ekperikpe Ekpo, has urged contractors handling the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline project to ensure its completion by December this year.

Ekpo, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Mr. Louis Ibah, gave the charge yesterday during his tour of the 48×1.8km gas pipeline project.

The critical gas transportation infrastructure was designed to run across the River Niger, conveying gas from the South-south and South-east to the South-west and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Project, among others.

The minister was accompanied on the tour by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri; Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, and other top officials of the Ministry, NNPC and regulatory agencies.

Ekpo, told officials of Enikkom and HDD Thailand, who are the joint venture contractors handling the project, that meeting the December 2023 deadline, would greatly assist the federal government’s aspiration of making gas available to all nooks and crannies of the country as well as addressing some of the challenges associated with the removal of fuel subsidy.

He said, “Nigerians are waiting for this project. Mr. President (His Excellency Bola Tinubu) is passionate about gasifying Nigeria, and this is also my mission as a minister. The withdrawal of fuel subsidy has been causing problems in the country, but if we get this project right, the pressure will come down.

“When that is done, it will go a long way in improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria and foreign exchange will come into the country. So, I implore you all to be intentional, committed and passionate about this project’s completion deadline.”

Also speaking, Lokpobiri commended the contractors and those involved in the project. He described the project as a game changer for Nigeria, saying its inauguration would boost the quest to provide enough gas for domestic use.

On his part, Kyari assured that the project would be completed by the end of the year as most of the initial challenges had been identified and surmounted by the contractors.