NGA, Nipco call for increased focus on gas

The President of Nigeria Gas Association (NGA), Mr. Bolaji Osunsanya and the Managing Director, Nipco Plc, Mr. Venkatapathy Venkataraman, have called for a special focus on gas to effectively harness its vast resources in the country.

According to a statement from Nipco, they said that Nigeria would only be referred to as a gas haven with low level of utilisation of the resources if pre-eminence was not accorded the sector.

This was stated this during a courtesy visit by Osunsanya and some council members of the NGA to Nipco.

The NGA president was quoted to have said, “There is a need to give gase a new pride of place, especially in the light of the nation’s economic predicament,” adding that gas development at the levels of exploration and utilisation needed a new focus.

According to him, there is a sense in focusing on gas whether you do it by creating a special ministry or you make sure it has a special place in policy initiatives.

He suggested that in the interim, whatever ministry that supervises gas should make it a focused area to enable corporate bodies like Nipco to do even more in the sector.

Osunsanya acknowledged the contribution of Nipco to the sector so far, saying the association was proud of its achievement.

The Nipco MD told the visiting stakeholders that a great future lay ahead for the country in the gas sector, not only in view of the abundant resources but also in terms of their utilisation for power generation and as fuel for cooking and transport, which would save the country foreign exchange used for fuel importation.

Venkataraman said, “Nipco remains a key player in the sector for domestic purposes across the country.”

In the area of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, he said the company had put in place massive gas storage facility with attendant distribution network through scores of gas trucks as well as inaugurating skid in some of its branded service stations.