Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State; Engr. Emeka Okwuosa, GCEO of Oilserv Group and Mallam Mele Kyari, GMD of NNPC at the groundbreaking event marking the take-off of AKK Gas Pipeline Project in Ajaokuta, Kogi State, recently.
Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yahaya Bello, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari, for choosing a leading indigenous Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) company, Oilserv Limited, as the lead contractor of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Pipeline project, which was commissioned for construction on Tuesday.
Speaking during the unveiling of the plaque on behalf of President Buhari, Governor Bello stated that the President (Buhari) has demonstrated his belief that indigenous companies that favorably compete with their foreign counterparts.
He however urged the Chairman of Oilserv Limited, Engr. Emeka Okwuosa, to continue in his efforts to build more indigenous capacity by training and employing indigenes of the host communities.
In his address, Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, assured Nigerians and all stakeholders that the project will be delivered as scheduled.
According to him, “As part of the agreement, NNPC is utilizing the equity contribution to commence execution of the project to recover lost time and put the project back on track.
“We are confident that the EPC contractors will deliver the project on time, within budget and to quality/specifications. Upon completion, the project would enable the injection of 2.2bscf/d of gas into the domestic market and facilitate additional power generation capacity of 3,600MW.”
He said NNPC is thus transitioning towards becoming an Integrated Energy Company to support His Excellency, Mr. President’s economic diversification efforts.
“One of such efforts is the expansion of the Corporation’s domestic gas footprint with the delivery of the Trans-Nigeria Pipeline Project which includes the Escravos to Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) 2, the Obiafu,-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline.
“Construction of these critical enablers is in line with NNPC’s responsibility of implementing the National Gas Infrastructure Blueprint which is part of the Nigerian Gas Master Plan.”
Furthermore, he posited that the Master Plan is meant to leverage on the Nation’s huge natural gas reserve base to stimulate unprecedented economic growth and enable Nigeria’s migration from the current mono-economy into a diversified economy.
“The AKK gas pipeline project, which is part of the Trans-Nigeria gas pipeline project, involves the establishment of a connecting gas pipeline network that will integrate the Northern region of the country with the Niger Delta, Eastern and Western regions of the Country,” he said.
Speaking to journalists in Ajaokuta, Kogi State, the Chairman of Oilserv Limited, Engr. Emeka Okwuosa, said “we are ready for it (project construction). Infact, what we are carrying out today is official flag-off which is the groundbreaking ceremony. But as you can see over there, we are ready, we are already working, we are laying the lines.
“Oilserv is an indigenous company currently employing more than 600 workers. With this AKK, we probably will go to between 1,500 and 2000 at the peak of the personnel matrix. But the fact remains that we are ready.
“This is not the first project. We are commissioning the OB3 gas project which is slightly larger than this in terms diameter (48-inch diameter). So we have the experience, we have the personnel, we have the equipment and we are capable and we would deliver this project.”
On the viability of the project, the Oilserv boss assure that the project is commercially viable.
“This project is a project that is commercially viable. It’s a project that the loan can be taken of by the commercial nature of the project. So in lieu of that, we have injected a Chinese partner to meet the Chinese content requirements.
“But Oilserv is the primary EPC company. Our experience is what we also help to drive this process a lot. Like I said, this is fully viable. The facility being taken is meant to be repaid in 15 years, but this project can pay itself in less than 10 years because this is a commercial venture.
“Every project comes with its challenges. There are challenges to build a project like this in virgin forest, to go through rivers, to go through rocks and to deal with security issues. These are challenges but I don’t have fears because we have the knowledge and the experience to deal with it. We are very ready to deliver the project and deliver the project on time,” he said.
