NNPC Upstream Investment Services, NUIS, a subsidiary of NNPC, yesterday disclosed that it has entered an agreement with its partner, Chevron Nigeria to increase gas supply to the domestic market. Mr Bala Wunti, NUIS Chief Investment Officer, who disclosed this through his official tweeter handle said the agreement was reached during the official visit of NUIS team to Chevron Escravos facilities. Recall that in continuation of its ongoing restructuring and consolidation, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited recently changed the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), an arm of the company to the NNPC Upstream Investment Services (NUIS). Speaking about the visit and the agreement reached, Wunti said : ” The NUIMS Team and I were received at the integrated NNPC Ltd – Chevron Escravos facilities, including the Escravos Gas Plant (EGP) and Escravos Gas-to-Liquid (EGTL), and export terminal during an official visit”.
“The visit is in continuation of our series of visits to Engage with Chevron people, Fact-Finding on burning issues, and to co-create and align on actionable Focus Areas that will enable us to deliver on our energy security mandate and generate value for Nigeria and partners. Without any doubt, the Chevron facility is world-class, and the operation is excellent. The people are professional and are symbol of true Chevron culture of excellence. During the visit, NUIMS and Chevron have agreed to ensure and prioritise safety, integrity, and reliability (SIR priorities) in all operations. We also agreed to maintain focus on improving gas supply into the domestic market and domestication of Excravos LPG and EGTL diesel. Being our first work visit since the transformation of former NAPIMS to NUIMS, I used the opportunity to reinforce NNPC Ltd’s commitment to collaboration and speedy decision-making in line with NUIMS’ operating philosophy of Safety, Speed, Compliance, and Excellence (SSCE).
I also used the opportunity and invited Chevron to adopt the SSCE concept in its operations,” the NUIS boss added. Chevron Nigeria limited , CNL, is involved in natural gas projects in the western Niger Delta and Escravos areas, including the Escravos Gas Plant (EGP), the Escravos Gas-to-Liquids (EGTL) facility and the Sonam Field Development Project. It operates the EGP, which has a total capacity of 680 million cubic feet per day of natural gas and LPG and a condensate export capacity of 58,000 barrels per day. Chevron and the NNPC operate the EGTL facility, a 33,000-barrel-per-day gas-to-liquids plant. The Sonam Field Development Project is designed to process natural gas through the EGP and deliver it to the domestic gas market. Net production at the 40 percent-owned and operated project averaged 11,000 barrels of liquids and 89 million cubic feet of natural gas per day in 2019. With a 36.7 percent interest, Chevron is the largest shareholder in the West African Gas Pipeline Company Limited, which owns and operates the 421-mile (678-km) West African Gas Pipeline. The pipeline supplies customers in Benin, Ghana and Togo with Nigerian natural gas for power generation and industrial applications. It has the capacity to transport approximately 170 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.