The Managing Director of
Seplat Petroleum, Austin Avuru has said that the increasing utilisation of
associated gas has reduced the amount of gas flare from over one billion
standard cubic feet per day (bscf/d) to 750 million standard cubic feet per day
(mmscf/d) as at the end of last year.
Avuru stated this at the
2016 Business Forum of the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) in Lagos.
He further noted that exported liquefied natural
gas (LNG) accounted for 3.05bscf/d while re-injection and other operational
usage accounted for 2.9bscf/d bringing the total gas utilised daily in 2015 to
8.0bscf.
In his paper titled:
“Re-evaluating the development of the Nigerian gas industry: A prerequisite for
re-energising and maximising its potential”, the Seplat chief said historically
that gas discoveries have been incidental to oil exploration and development,
adding that flare penalty of N10/mmscf has proved ineffective in dissuading gas
flaring as Nigeria ranks second in flare volumes, accounting for 10 per cent of
total global flares in 2011, following Russia.
According to him, to ensure
future growth by closing the gaps in the industry, players should do something
different. He said power sector reforms, licensing of more independent power
projects (IPPs) and the gas master plan (GMP) have resulted in increased
potential demand for domestic gas.
He said 6.5 gigawatts (Gw),
which is 67 per cent of gas-fired power capacity, is in Western Delta and
reliant on Escravos Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) for feedstock, and 45 per cent of feedstock is associated gas,
transported mainly via Trans-Forcados pipeline.
He noted that if the
stakeholders do things different, the industrial sector including the
downstream, electricity generation (gas to power), petrochemical industry, construction industry (cement), agricultural
industry (fertilizers) can take between 10-12 bscf/d.
In the power sector,
Avuru noted the importance of
infrastructure, highlighting the constraints on gas transmission and distribution.
He also stressed the difficulty in accessing funds, adding that when funds are
available, they are expensive. Regulatory framework, he said, is not
encouraging because of the extensive and bureaucratic processes for obtaining licenses.
No comments:
Post a Comment