By Moses Uwagbale
Shell Nigeria Gas Limited (SNG), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, has commenced the construction of a 40 megawatts power and gas plant to service the Aba business clusters.
Mr Ed Udobong, SNG’s Managing Director, said this in a statement by Mr Bamidele Odugbesan, Shell’s Media Relations Manager, on Friday.
He said that the project, City Gate Gas and Power Plant, would be located in Aba, the Abia commercial city.
“This plant will enable SNG to remove more impurities from natural gas and increase quality gas supply to end users
“SNG is the first gas distribution company in Nigeria to adopt this technical solution that ensures plant and product integrity,” he said.
Udobong stated that the project is the solution to the challenge of liquid incursion into gas pipeline being faced by businesses in the region.
“Our intention is to provide customers with top quality gas supply at a reduced cost; we are committed to deliver this project,” he said.
The SNG managing director further stated that the plant would produce 10 million Standard Cubit Feet of gas per day.
“The facility can be expanded to 30 million Standard Cubit Feet of gas and 40 megawatts of gas-to-power electricity generation capacity.
“Our development objective is to produce cleaner energy and create positive impact in our host communities,” he said.
Speaking on behalf the host community, Chief Okechukwu Onwuka, described the project as a good omen to the people, saying, “it is capable of driving business development and economic empowerment”.
He expressed the willingness of the community to provide the enabling environment for the smooth operations of the company.
The Aba City Gate Plant complements SNG’s recently completed 20km domestic gas pipeline expansion project which connects Agbor Hill, Osisioma and Ariaria industrial zones.
The expansion project has enabled the supply of pipeline gas to Ariaria Market Energy Solutions Limited and the Independent Power Project consortium which provides electricity to the popular Ariaria market.
