Following his appointment as the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by President Muhammadu Buhari last year, Mr Mele Kyari declared that he would not only be an exemplary leader of the oil giant but would go the extra mile to ensure the corporation opens new vistas to make the nation enjoy more significant benefits from its oil and gas investments. Not a few of those who heard Kyari’s bold, visionary pronouncement would rather hedge their bets, opting to wait and see whether the new person in the saddle would walk his talk.
Well, such doubting-Thomas were not kept waiting for long. In the most real sense of a leader who indeed hits the ground running, the new NNPC boss started dazzling everyone with his consummate steps. True to his mission statement, Kyari initiated measures to make the corporation more transparent, accountable and result-oriented. And true to his image as an accomplished administrator and terrific technocrat, NNPC under his watch has gradually begun to shed its image as a den of wastage, corruption and profligacy. This is even as specific projects that had hitherto seem far-fetched are now becoming a reality.
For example, barely a few weeks ago, the nation’s gas sub-sector had cause to smile as the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) train-7 of the long-delayed gas project was successfully completed at long last. It would be recalled that this project, which has the potential to fetch Nigeria billions of dollars, was allegedly politicized by the Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan administrations who, despite public outcry, diverted it to Ogun and Bayelsa states respectively thereby causing avoidable hitches with the attendant wastage of billions of tax payers’ naira.
While the ovation that trailed the successful completion of that project was still swirling, the nation has been given another cause for celebration with the flag-off of the $2.592 billion AKK gas project. As the name implies, the ambitious project is a 614-kilometre gas pipeline that encompasses Abuja-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) and is expected to add 2.2 bscf/d of gas into the nation’s domestic market. In addition to that, the project is also expected to facilitate the generation of a hefty 3,600 megawatts of electricity, a veritably welcome development for a country still mired in the throes of scandalously unstable power supply.
The project was flagged-off virtually by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, June 30, 2020. The President then watched remotely via video-conference from the Council Chambers of the President Villa in Abuja as Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi state and Governor Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai of Kaduna state physically flagged-off the start of work at the Ajaokuta and Rigachikun sites, respectively. Billed to be completed within two years, the project, which was part of the trans-Nigeria gas pipeline project, involves the construction of a connecting gas pipeline network that would integrate Nigeria’s Northern region with the Niger Delta, South-East and South-West regions.
As disclosed by the NNPC GMD, the EPC contract for the 614km AKK gas pipeline was awarded at a total cost of $2.592 billion to Messrs Oil serv Plc/ China first highway engineering company (Oilserv/CFHEC consortium) for the first segment that covers 303km. The second segment is to be handled by Messrs Brentex Petroleum Services/China Petroleum Pipeline Bureaux (Brentex/CPP consortium) under a debt-equity financing model with a loan from the Bank of China and SINO-SURE. The facility will be repaid through the pipeline transmission tariff supported by a sovereign guarantee. This segment covers 311km.
While doing the traditional flag-off, President Muhammadu Buhari reiterated the federal government’s determination to ensure timely delivery of the landmark gas project within budgetary allocation and specification. More so as the project is very dear to the heart of Nigeria.
Recalling that the present administration had promised to expand the critical gas infrastructure in the country to promote the use of gas in the domestic market, including the Escravos-Lagos pipeline system 2 (ELPS-2), Obiafu-Obrikom (OB3) pipeline and AKK, the President said: “These projects are fundamental to our desire to industrialize and energize the entrepreneurial spirit that is ever-present in our population.”
Pointing out that the AKK project will help revive moribund industries along with transit towns in Kogi State, the Federal Capital Territory, and Niger, Kaduna, and Kano states, the President further said: “It has significant job creation potential both direct and indirect while fostering the development and utilization of local skills and manpower, technology transfer and promotion of local manufacturer.”
Speaking in the same vein, the NNPC GMD waxed lyrical about the enormous benefits to be gleaned from the project, saying is “confident that the EFC contractors will deliver the project on time, within budget and to quality specifications.”
Is the NNPC chief’s confidence misplaced? Hardly so. With such an acknowledged experience coupled with the on-the-job expertise on display since he mounted the NNPC saddle, the likelihood that Mele Kyari will help midwife the successful completion and operation of the AKK gas pipeline is quite high. All eyes are now fixed on Mele Kyari and his team, waiting and watching to see whether the needful will be done between now and 2022.
