Victor EzejaGeometric Power has lamented the acute shortage of natural gas supply to its 188-megawatt plant in Osisioma Industrial Estate, Aba, Abia State.
Highlighting the impact on economic growth in Abia State, the power firm said the situation has forced its subsidiary, Aba Power, managing the franchise, to import 25 megawatts from the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) “at a huge cost,” to serve customers.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelManaging Director of Aba Power, Ugo Opiegbe, said it is ironic that a company which has the capacity to generate 141MW to serve its customers cannot presently do so because of gas supply constraints.
“It is a supreme irony that though we are ready to generate 141MW from our three General Electric (GE) turbines and provide uninterrupted, quality, and affordable electricity to nine of the 17 local government areas in Abia State we service and export some 50MW potential excess power to the national grid to make power more available to other places in Nigeria, we are importing electricity because of the grave gas constraints,” Opiegbe stated.
He said the Aba Ringfence needs about 90MW, which it can generate from two of its installed three turbines, with a capacity of 47MW each, noting that the 25MW it currently imports from the NDPHC “is like a drop of water in the ocean.”
“The unreliable gas supply is affecting hundreds of thousands of our customers, particularly manufacturing firms for whose sake Geometric Power built the $800m Aba Integrated Power Project to accelerate the industrial development of Aba and its environs and serve as a model of electricity development in Nigeria, a promising nation whose growth has been hampered seriously over the decades by the absence of such basic infrastructure as reliable power.”
The Aba power was commissioned on February 26 by Vice President Kashim Shettima on behalf of President Bola Tinubu.
The statement quoted Ogbonna Chukwueke, an engineer and gas expert to have said that Geometric Power signed an agreement with Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in 2009 for the supply of 43 million standard cubic feet of gas (MSCF) from its Oil Mining Licences (OMLs) 11 and 17 in Owaza, Ukwa East Local Government Area of Abia State, for its four turbines to produce 47MW each.
However, Chukwueke, who had worked with Shell noted that the withdrawal of the Multinational oil and gas company from Nigeria’s onshore operations due to oil theft, vandalism, and other challenges led to the transfer of the ownership and management of the OMLs 11 and 17 to local operators “who unfortunately have not been able to deliver even up to 10 million SCF daily on any occasion to the power plant Geometric Power.”
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The statement further assured that Geometric Power is working hard to resolve the gas supply challenge.
The company acknowledged what it described as the “wonderful and patriotic efforts” of Vice President Shettima, Abia State Governor Alex Otti, Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu, and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari, in assisting to get a more reliable source of gas to the power plant.
“From the look of things, we should be able to overcome the gas shortage within a month,” it added.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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