Gas Aggregation in
Nigeria
by Don Kenobi
by Don Kenobi
There is an organization
called the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria. Their name is self-explanatory
but what have they achieved - in concrete terms - a la helping the industry literally generate its own steam and running on it?
Not meetings about meetings where gas availability or non-availability were discussed! How do they rate themselves 5 years down the line?
Not meetings about meetings where gas availability or non-availability were discussed! How do they rate themselves 5 years down the line?
One of the more interesting things I
found in my time as a gas to power enthusiast was that every industry stakeholder knew exactly what the problem was - limit
that epiphany to just a handful, and we might have solve our power problems ages ago.
The problem? Actually there were 2 problems:
- The unrealistic price set by the federal government for gas. How this was a problem? Thank you. It was a problem because gas prices were so low, gas field owners couldn't be bothered developing their gas assets.
- The unrealistic price set by the government for electricity. How this was a problem? Thank you. It was a problem because Electricity prices were so low, power generators could not generate electricity cheap enough for suffering Nigerians!
and there was 3. Pipeline vandalism - (Almost forgot that one!).... Pipeline vandals I came to realize (my 25+ years in Oil and GAs), knew condensate pipelines from Crude pipelines and Gas pipelines from finished product pipelines.....
What economic interest they had in high pressure gas pipelines eludes me.... but you know...who knows... and yes... there was a 4th:
The High Tension Transmission lines were inadequate... and a 5th
No gas pipes within 100s of miles of the power plant - raising the question:
What were you thinking of - building that plant there in the first place?
Where was I?
Yes - and as if we did not have enough to contend with, a CEOs would say something like: “Nigeria needs over 300 billion dollars investment in the power sector for it to meet the level of power generation in South Africa.”
What economic interest they had in high pressure gas pipelines eludes me.... but you know...who knows... and yes... there was a 4th:
The High Tension Transmission lines were inadequate... and a 5th
No gas pipes within 100s of miles of the power plant - raising the question:
What were you thinking of - building that plant there in the first place?
Where was I?
Yes - and as if we did not have enough to contend with, a CEOs would say something like: “Nigeria needs over 300 billion dollars investment in the power sector for it to meet the level of power generation in South Africa.”
What is the purpose of that depressing news - and why South Africa? I always wanted to ask the big-wigs who made those statements - I mean South Africa had one
fifth of our population! If they really wanted to scare us into hopelessness, telling us expenditure required to meet the power
generation of Russia - a nation with a population comparable to ours would make more sense!
Hydro-power accounted for 21% of Russia's total electric power production. Russia had 102 hydro power plants in operation, with aggregate installed capacity of over 35,000MW (9 times what Nigeria generated)....
A great headline would be:
"21% of Russia's electricity output was 9 times the amount of electricity we generate - now go home!"
A great headline would be:
"21% of Russia's electricity output was 9 times the amount of electricity we generate - now go home!"
No interview was complete without this fact beung stated: Nigeria
had the seventh largest gas reserves on the planet. Yes Gas Gas was Everywhere... We have seen Power ministers come,
make loud noises, and disappear - never to be heard from again! Underlining thereby, the fact that the electricity problem was ours to solve!
Please join the debate - post your solution to Nigeria's intractable power problem in the comment section below:
My Solution?
Define the problem:
My Solution?
Define the problem:
- Is building a power plant in every local government area (LGA) in the country desirable
- What creating the position of “state commissioner for power generation”, who in turn would appoint “Assistant commissioner sfor electricity generation” in each local government area under his jurisdiction?
- Would it be a good idea to have these electricity Czars in government provided houses in LGAs they supervise?
Forget Electricity
Forgetting about electricity for a moment, let us think about this for a moment: Nigeria has the 7th largest gas
reserves on the planet. What are we going to do with it? It is our calling card - it should be a resource as vital to our economy as gold and platinum and Diamonds are to South Africa's!
Of what use is all that gas beneath our feet?
How about creating the largest industrial park on earth inviting factories the world over to come build stuff here on our shores - we have the gas to power all the turbines on the planet simultaneously!
Question: "Nigeria does not generate enough electricity for its citizens and yiou want to generate for the world?"
Answer: Yes.
Q: What has changed? How will you do it?
A: If you have to ask that question, you wouldn't understand the answer!
Q: Isn't that cheeky?
A: It is!
Q: What is stirring you up (again)?
A: I'll tell you: Things are so disorienting (yes disorienting) in the gas industry today - that its become an all-comers affair - very many "well-intentioned" dilettantes and triflers have added to the “lack of order or predictability” in the industry - resulting on solid moves by several consultants to commence the importation LNG from the US gulf coast..... confident that it would create more order and reduce unpredictability, and be cheaper than buying gas from the pipelines of the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC)
That is what is stirring up my indignation (again).
The prospect of helping to monetise America's gas assets (as though America weren't rich enough, while ours lay dormant....
May I use this opportunity to say Happy Independence to the professional do-nothings in our hallowed corridors of power, and the aforementioned well-intentioned triflers. Happy independence day! May the next 55 be better!
Of what use is all that gas beneath our feet?
How about creating the largest industrial park on earth inviting factories the world over to come build stuff here on our shores - we have the gas to power all the turbines on the planet simultaneously!
Question: "Nigeria does not generate enough electricity for its citizens and yiou want to generate for the world?"
Answer: Yes.
Q: What has changed? How will you do it?
A: If you have to ask that question, you wouldn't understand the answer!
Q: Isn't that cheeky?
A: It is!
Q: What is stirring you up (again)?
A: I'll tell you: Things are so disorienting (yes disorienting) in the gas industry today - that its become an all-comers affair - very many "well-intentioned" dilettantes and triflers have added to the “lack of order or predictability” in the industry - resulting on solid moves by several consultants to commence the importation LNG from the US gulf coast..... confident that it would create more order and reduce unpredictability, and be cheaper than buying gas from the pipelines of the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC)
That is what is stirring up my indignation (again).
The prospect of helping to monetise America's gas assets (as though America weren't rich enough, while ours lay dormant....
May I use this opportunity to say Happy Independence to the professional do-nothings in our hallowed corridors of power, and the aforementioned well-intentioned triflers. Happy independence day! May the next 55 be better!
Obi Akaraiwe
CEO Gasafrique.
@Virtualgas
Obi is also the founder of Virtual Gas Ltd.
He is also a writer and a poet
(and writes under the nom de guerre "Don Kenobi")
