.Vows cheap energy dividends for Nigerians
CHIGOZIE AMADI
Federal government is working out plans to launch a pan-industry price dashboard that provides market supply trends and direction of price movements for players in the domestic energy market.
The government also vows to deliver cheap domestic and industrial energy for homes and businesses across the country, projecting that cheaper gas prices and enhanced electricity supply would for key resource dividends for all Nigerians by 2030.
Director of the Decade of Gas Office, Mr Ed Ubong, told Daily Champion in Abuja that gas supply to homes, industries and the power sector remains a key performance indicator for the nation’s ongoing policy implementation process as captured in the Decade of Gas programme.
Mr Ubong’s comments came in response to recent jumps in the price of cooking gas in the country, which he blamed on supply speculation in the domestic market. He said the prompt response of the government in taming the price jumps showed that no market fundamentals supported the price increase by marketers.
According to him, deregulation of the domestic market and the need to protect consumers from manipulative tendencies of market oligopoly have created the urgent need for the government to raise an industry supply dashboard that captures all pricing templates.
Mr Ubong made it clear that the domestic market for cooking and industrial gas is currently well supplied by the nation’s rapidly growing midstream and downstream processing capacity.
Daily Champion reports that Nigeria’s production capacity for the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), also called cooking gas, has since diversified from processing plants operated by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited to OSO shallow water gas facilities operated by Seplat Energy Plc, the Kwale Gas Gathering (KGG) facilities operated by Xenergi Limited, processing plants operated by Dangote Refinery as well as many other small processing facilities operated by indigenous companies across the country.
Mr Ubong also pointed at gas transmission infrastructure under development by the federal government, saying that the key supply trunklines, including the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) pipeline, Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline and other gas gathering facilities approved for operating companies would assist in deepening the domestic gas market and enhance internal supply.
Mr Ubong declared that greater focus of the Decade of Gas programme falls on the upstream electricity industry where over half of installed capacity remains stranded due to transmission and distribution bottlenecks.
He stated that whereas the electric power sector remains nearly 70 percent of the total domestic market demand capacity, most of the installed generation plants remain redundant due to operational challenges. He declared the resolve of the government to work with all stakeholders in the Nigerian electricity supply industry (NESI) to dismantle bottlenecks and constraints that hinder full capacity optimization in the industry.
According to him, delivery of cooking gas and electricity to homes and businesses in the country remains the cardinal objectives of the Decade of Gas programme. He added that the major dividend for the people in the full industry reform programme of the government would be sufficient access to affordable and diversified energy products.
He said the Decade of Gas programme has activated a series of other plans currently under implementation, including the compressed natural gas (CNG) Initiative for industrial and automotive application; the National Automotive Programme; virtual LNG programme for industrial gas supplies; domestic LPG penetration for cleaners cooking; Nigerian Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) and numerous others.
Mr Ubong stated that all the programmes are conceived to diversify clean fuel access for different classes of gas consumers; while key gas transmission lines would assist open up corridors for manufacturing investments, spur power generation and sundry industrial activities along the pipeline routes.
According to Mr Ubong, the Decade of Gas programme would be counting key performance indicators not on the basis of gas produced, but on the volumes exported or supplied directly to homes, businesses and power sector. He explained that the priority is to deliver resource dividends to every stakeholder in the country. He pointed out that while gas export income assists the government meet its obligations to the people, cooking gas and electricity would form direct resource dividends to the masses.
“It on these bases that all the programmes have been designed. And I am sure that everyone agrees that government has done well when it comes to the energy sector,” Mr Ubong said.
