Gas Hub: SPDC Backs  Nigeria’s Emergence

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has said it is well-positioned to transform Nigeria into a gas hub within the Gulf of Guinea as energy transition initiatives headline global activities.

Country Head, Corporate Relations, SPDC, Igo Weli, stated this in his remarks during the 7th annual public lecture of the Federated Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bayelsa State Council, in Yenagoa.

Weli represented by the SPDC Government Relations Adviser for Bayelsa, Owei Bubo, also said that the oil company was already a major player in the nation’s Natural Gas Expansion Programme introduced in the year 2020 and targeted at making the country utilize its vast gas resources effectively.

He said Shell companies in Nigeria were also working with the Federal Government of Nigeria to build a network of gas plants and pipelines to help bring power to the country’s growing industrial and commercial sectors.

Weli said, “This infrastructure will also increase the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet global demands for power and heating.

“In Bayelsa State, Shell Nigeria Gas signed an agreement with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, (NCDMB) to provide gas infrastructure to the NCDMB industrial gas park in Polaku. NCDMB estimates the park could generate over 30,000 local employment opportunities.

“As the only wholly owned Nigerian subsidiary of an international oil company in domestic gas distribution, (Shell Nigeria Gas), SNG, is a symbol of Royal Dutch Shell’s commitment to clean, sustainable energy access and security in Nigeria and across the globe.”

Weli stressed that the Assa North/Ohaji South Gas Development Project in Imo State expected to be one of the largest gas facilities in Nigeria, as well as others located at Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Abia and Rivers States, are examples of Shell’s long term commitment to Nigeria.

He called on traders and businesses that had traditionally used petrol and diesel generators to power their light and equipment, to now have Shell Nigeria Gas Limited supply natural gas to Independent Power Project (IPP) consortium that provides electricity to the areas.

Weli equally used the occasion to challenge journalists to justify the trust reposed in them by the public by religiously sticking to the ethical standards of the journalism profession in their reportage.

He further said, “If reportage does not realize these responsibilities and continues to propagate only coverage that emphasizes and provides fodder for insecurity, picketing of premises of corporate citizens and generally make the environment rougher for business operations, with no respect for rule of law, then we should not be surprised when government is unable to provide the infrastructure for better life…..

“We- community people, corporate citizens and the public – are all looking to you, the Media, to continue to overcome the challenges that we recognize you face and deliver these services right all the time; helping us to shape up for a future that stares at all of us.

“You need to highlight that the Nigerian government must safeguard lives and property; preserve the sanctity of contracts without which business decisions and investments with longer- term values cannot be made; and in doing so, create an environment that is conducive for business, with employment and revenue for our people.”