As Nigeria pushes to become a gas-powered economy, the country’s ability to move gas reliably is now the make-or-break factor. New pipelines, secure evacuation routes, and digital operations are moving from “nice to have” to non-negotiable.
That shift became concrete earlier this year when Seplat Energy delivered first gas from the 300 MMscfd ANOH gas project. The key enabler was the newly completed 11km Indorama gas export pipeline, which gave ANOH an alternative evacuation route into the domestic market.
For years, Nigeria’s gas commercialization was held back by aging pipelines and slow integration. The start of gas flow from ANOH through this new line changes that equation.
In an interview, Engr. Gbenga Ayodele Owolabi, Senior Commercial Manager at ANOH Gas Processing Company, explains why the new evacuation route matters now and for the long term. EXCEPTS
What techniques were implemented to ensure the ANOH gas pipeline meets the global best practices in terms of ESG commitments?
Sustainability was embedded into the ANOH alternative pipeline from the design stage.
The project was structured to allow Indorama and other offtakers to develop their own pipelines and compression facilities, while ANOH provided a central gas hub with multiple manifold connection points to enable future tie-ins and efficient gas redistribution. This approach minimizes infrastructure duplication and supports long-term system resilience.
Comprehensive Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs) were completed in compliance with Nigerian regulations and aligned with international best practices. Construction utilized low-impact techniques, including horizontal directional drilling in environmentally sensitive areas, significantly reducing surface disturbance.
The project adopted a strong host community engagement strategy, emphasizing early consultation, local employment opportunities, formal grievance management mechanisms, and targeted long-term social investment, supporting social acceptance and operational stability.
From an environmental and climate perspective, the pipeline enables reduced gas flaring and cleaner fuel substitution, aligning the project with Nigeria’s energy transition and decarbonization objectives while strengthening the domestic gas value chain.
Earlier this year, the ANOH gas project delivered its first gas through an alternative pipeline after years of delays caused by a decade-long infrastructure gap in Nigeria’s traditional pipelines. How secure is the new pipeline for gas supply, and how will it reshape the domestic gas market?
The delivery of first gas through the Indorama-owned alternative pipeline marks a major milestone for the ANOH Gas Project, enabling early gas monetization and overcoming long-standing evacuation constraints affecting legacy infrastructure. Purpose-built with enhanced security, optimized routing, and greater operational resilience, the pipeline is currently transporting approximately 50 MMSCFD of gas to the Indorama Eleme Petrochemical Complex in Rivers State.
For long term, large scale gas evacuation, the Obiafu–Obrikom–Oben (OB3) pipeline remains critical. OB3 serves as Nigeria’s strategic east–west gas transmission backbone, linking Eastern gas supplies to the Escravos–Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) at Oben. This connection enables access to multiple downstream markets across the western corridor, including power plants, industrial clusters, and large domestic offtakers.
While the Indorama pipeline provides an immediate and secure evacuation route, other ANOH offtakers depend on the completion and full integration of OB3 into ELPS for onward gas delivery. Together, both routes will deliver evacuation certainty, a prerequisite for meeting Domestic Gas Supply Obligations and sustaining long-term gas commercialization.
Strategically, the combined infrastructure offers route diversity, reduced single point of failure risk, and improved system resilience, strengthening investor confidence in Nigeria’s gas midstream.
More broadly, OB3 underpins Nigeria’s gas-led economic transition by enabling reliable gas supply to power generation, industrial hubs, and emerging gas-based industries, moving the domestic gas sector toward a more integrated and resilient national network.
What’s your assessment of the current state of Nigeria’s gas pipeline networks, and how can new pipelines be well integrated into existing infrastructures without disrupting gas supply?
Nigeria’s gas pipeline network is improving, with new systems such as AKK complementing the ELPS network. However, capacity and resilience remain below the level required to meet current demand and projected growth across power and industrial sectors.The government is making progress in addressing aging infrastructure, limited redundancy, and ongoing integrity and security challenges, but a fully robust network will require sustained upgrades. Achieving this will depend on a combination of private sector investment, strong regulatory frameworks, and investment-focused policies, including clear network codes, transparent access rules, and commercially viable tariffs.
The integration of new pipelines must be guided by coordinated network planning, supported by digital flow modeling, phased tie-ins, and strong pressure management practices to ensure interoperability and system reliability.
How are digital technologies shaping the company’s operations?
Digitalization is a cornerstone of ANOH’s operational strategy, enabling safe, reliable, and efficient asset performance. Advanced SCADA systems and real-time monitoring tools are deployed to continuously track pipeline integrity, pressure, and flow parameters across the network.
The company leverages data analytics, predictive maintenance models, and condition-based monitoring to identify potential risks early and optimize inspection and maintenance cycles.
In addition, digital asset registers and integrity management systems support full lifecycle asset management, enhancing safety, reliability, and cost efficiency.
To further strengthen this capability, ANOH is progressing plans to implement Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) and Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) studies. These initiatives will enable end-to-end digitalization of plant and pipeline assets, streamlining inspection and maintenance activities while supporting long-term operational resilience.
What are your company’s priorities in 2026 and beyond?
Our priorities center on ensuring consistent and reliable gas supply to the domestic market, strengthening asset integrity and operational resilience, and deepening digital transformation across all operations. A key area of focus is the execution of our expansion strategy, including the successful implementation of Phase 2 of the ANOH Gas development.
We remain equally committed to best-in-class HSE performance and strong sustainability outcomes, while actively supporting Nigeria’s ambition to build a gas-driven industrial economy.
At ANOH Gas Company, we are focused on creating long-term shareholder value in a manner that is fully aligned with national energy development objectives.
