NNPC mulls $15bn investment to generate 4,000mw electricity in the next ten years

To help boost power generation in the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has hinted of its plan to generate at least 4,000megawatts of electricity in the next three to 10 years.

The NNPC said that it is aiming for an investment of about $15 billion which will assist in realising its plans to increase gas supply in the country to be able to generate about 4,000 megawatts of electricity.

This was made known to newsmen in a statement the corporation released in Abuja, adding that the 4,000mw power generation objective would be attained through the construction of independent power plants.

The statement quoted NNPC Chief Operating Officer (COO), Gas and Power, Mr. Saidu Mohammed, as making this disclosure during the 2017 retreat of his Autonomous Business Unit, ABU (Gas and Power), in Kaduna.

Mohammed further hinted that the power plants would be built in the next three to 10 years by Incorporated Joint Venture Companies that would include the NNPC, international power companies as well as other Nigerian investors and would be designed after the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) business model.

He said, “As at today NNPC has interest in two power plants, one in Okpai, Delta State and the other in Afam, Rivers State,” adding that power generation is big business.

Noting that the two power plants collectively generate up to 1,000 megawatts and are the most reliable and cheapest source of power to the national grid in Nigeria today, Mohammed said that there are ongoing plans to commence Okpai Phase Two Power Plant.

He further said that other Joint Venture (JV) power plants like Obite and Agura would also be advanced in the shortest possible time to boost power generation in the country.

The new thinking, he said, involves extending the NNPC’s major gas pipeline infrastructure into a robust network to connect various parts of the country.

While hinting that the implementation of the Ajaokuta to Abuja-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) extension has progressed, he said that the main base-loads to justify such infrastructure are power plants that would consume the gas and for that, “we are planning to build about 2,000 to 3,100 megawatts, combined, in these three cities.

“The partnership will involve players who will bring in their various capacities as operators, builders of power plants and as investors. NNPC will also bring its strength of being a dominant player in the Nigerian gas value chain.”

Mohammed revealed that there were already ongoing consultations with investors worldwide to address the $15billion investment challenge needed to increase gas supply and boost electricity generation.

“If you generate enough power, the multiplier effect will revive most of the moribund industries across the country. NNPC intends to capture 50 per cent of the gas market in Nigeria by growing the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company (NGMC) from the 500 million standard cubic feet per day of gas that it is today to about three to four billion standard cubic feet per day in the next 10 years,” he said.