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Gas: From By-Product to Asset
End to flaring in sight as Nigeria celebrates the value of natural gas
Eager to shrug off its wasteful image after years of burning off 75% of its natural gas, Nigeria is waking up to a new era of prosperity thanks to the commodity it once treated as an inconvenient by-product of oil production. Natural gas, largely ignored in the absence of a robust infrastructure to process it, has risen on the political agenda; and not just for its potential for turning into liquid form. For evidence of such, look no further than the Afam VI power plant, where Shell is a 30% shareholder in a joint venture with Nigerian National Petroleum Company (55%), Total (10%) and Agip (5%). In October the JV began commissioning the first power unit from the Okoloma Gas Plant and its associated gas wells, collectively known as the Afam Gas and Power Project.
To date, the project represents an investment by the JV partners of USD1.3 billion. When completed, it will provide a fifth of Nigeria’s total domestic gas supply. The importance of this project cannot be overstated. The Afam power plant represents a huge leap forward for the country’s power generation industry and points the way ahead for Nigeria’s gas industry which transcends symbolism.
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