Photo: Managing Director of Tunnel Service Group (TSG), one of the contractors to the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) Gas Pipeline Project, Mr. Ingo Justen (1st from left) briefs the Group CEO NNPC Ltd, Mr. Mele Kyari (2nd from left) on progress of the River Niger Crossing Operation of the Gas Project during an inspection tour to one of the Project Sites at Aboh, Delta State, on Saturday.
By Our Reporter
In another significant move to enhance nationwide gas supply and stimulate industrialization and economic growth, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) is poised to complete the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) Gas Pipeline project. NNPC Ltd’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, confirmed this development during an inspection tour of the OB3 pipeline’s River Niger Crossing operation in Aboh, Delta State, on Saturday.
A statement by Olufemi O. Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer
NNPC Ltd. said the OB3 Gas Pipeline is designed to serve as an inter-connector, linking the Eastern gas pipeline network to the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) in the West and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Pipeline in the North. The River Niger Crossing operation has been a major obstacle to the completion of the OB3 pipeline for over three years due to the failure of various technologies deployed to construct the 48-inch pipe under the riverbed between Ndoni in Rivers State and Aboh in Delta State.
However, with the adoption of Micro-Tunnelling/Direct Pipe Installation technology, the new contractors, HDD Thailand/Enikkom and Tunnelling Services Group (TSG), have made significant progress, achieving approximately 860 meters out of the 1,800 meters needed. Kyari expressed optimism about the breakthrough, indicating the project’s imminent completion.
“This is a major project of monumental value to our country. This is the only way we can deliver the gas revolution. I am very happy and convinced that, by the middle of August, we will complete this project. I have been assured of that by the project team,” Kyari stated.
Kyari highlighted the project’s significance, noting that, once completed, it would bring about 2.2 billion standard cubic feet of gas into the network. “We believe this will give our country a breathing space of demand, and we can catch up with that demand in the next year and a half. This will provide the platform to unleash the gas revolution in our country,” he added.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo expressed satisfaction with the progress, describing it as “Renewed Hope at work.” He recalled his visit last year and noted the promise of completion by December. “Today, I am confident that by July or August it will be completed and commissioned by the President,” he stated.
Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, looked forward to the project’s completion, having been assured by the technical team that the right technology had been found to overcome the challenges of the River Niger Crossing. “We are looking forward to this project delivering prosperity to Nigerians in the form of electricity and other areas,” Verheijen said.
The Managing Director of Tunnel Service Group (TSG), Mr. Ingo Justen, personally supervising the project at Kyari’s request, expressed confidence in the current technology’s ability to expedite completion.
In a presentation, Managing Director of NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC), Engr. Seyi Omotowa, confirmed that with the progress of the new technology, the River Niger Crossing operation, the only remaining aspect of the OB3 Gas Pipeline Project, will be completed on schedule.