Lagos, Nigeria | — The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell aims to produce 600 MMcf/day of natural gas from fields in south eastern region of to bolster energy supply in the oil-rich West African country, the company said late Monday.
Development of the Assa North and Ohaji South gas projects in Imo state will generate energy equivalent of about 2,400 MW, enough to provide uninterrupted electricity to about 2.4 million homes, according to Shell.
“The projects would be a major game-changer in Nigeria’s quest for energy sufficiency and economic growth as we look to grow the domestic gas market,” said Osagie Okunbor, SPDC’s Managing Director.
“Shell is transforming to a gas-oriented business and currently accounts for about 10% of Nigeria’s domestic gas, most of which is used for power generation,” he added.
Shell Nigeria is partnering Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). and indigenous producer Seplat Petroleum in the projects.
The Assa North project received a final investment decision in February this year, while Ohaji South got FID in March. Nigeria aims to raise its gas production to about 7 Bcf/d from around 1.5 Bcf/d now.
The country burns off vast amounts of gas produced along with crude from mostly onshore oil fields in the Niger Delta, due to the lack of infrastructure to make use of it, creating a health hazard and one of the chief causes of friction between communities and oil companies.
