NNPC Ltd/TotalEnergies’ $550m Ubeta Upstream Gas Project Takes Off
CHIGOZIE AMADI
The $550 million upstream gas project between the NNPC Ltd and
TotalEnergies on the development of the Ubeta field has taken off, the
Presidency announced on Tuesday.
Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, disclosed this
during an inaugural US-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue, hosted by the
U.S. State Department in Washington, DC.
The signing ceremony of the 550 million USD Final Investment Decision
(FID) on the Ubeta Field Development Project took place in Abuja in June,
this year. The Ubeta field, which was discovered in 1964, is located northwest
of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Speaking at a luncheon organised as part of the inaugural US-Nigeria
Strategic Energy Dialogue, Verheijen said the upstream gas project would
deliver 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day when operational.
Verheijen added that major energy reforms introduced by President Bola
Ahmed Tinubu since June 2023 focused on improving energy security,
attracting investments, and deepening collaboration with key partners,
including the US government.
She said the key reforms had improved the viability of the gas-to-power
value chain of the country.
The reforms, according to her, included initiatives to improve cash flows in
electricity distribution through smart metering and the payment of
outstanding debts owed investors and to reduce carbon emissions from gas
production.
She added that the President issued five new executive orders to support
the reform efforts, aimed at providing fiscal incentives for investment and reducing the cost and time of finalising and implementing contracts to
develop and expand gas infrastructure.
The presidential aide said the directives are aimed to immediately unlock
up to $2.5 billion in new oil and gas investments in the country.
Responding, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of the State Department’s Bureau
of Energy Resources, Geoffrey Pyatt, said the dialogue was apt and strategic.
“The inaugural U.S.-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue has set the stage for
strengthened energy collaboration between the United States and Nigeria.
Together, we’re advancing shared energy security, decarbonisation, and
economic growth goals,” he said.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, led the
Nigerian delegation to the event. Officials from the Ministry of Power,
Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigerian Midstream
and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigerian Content
Development and Monitoring Board, and NNPC Limited were also in
attendance.
The U.S. delegation included representatives from the Bureau of African
Affairs, USAID, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Trade and
Development Agency, and the Export-Import Bank.
