Imagine a time when cheaper and cleaner fuel will flow seamlessly into most homes and factories. What a delight for people, businesses and country that will be, you would say.
This ideal is indeed the standard in many countries where systematic piping of gas, has eliminated the inconvenient and hazardous experience of commonly lugging cylinders all over town in search of the precious fuel.
Remote as it might sound in many parts of the developing world, the truth is that the prospect is progressively becoming a reality even in Nigeria. The vision which is already shaping the future is that very soon Nigerians and more industries will begin to enjoy the benefits of continuous flow of affordable fuel.
Bolaji Osunsanya, Chief Executive Officer of Oando Gas & Power, says that his company is out to quench the hunger for affordable and reliable energy in the country.
Osunsanya whose company is leading the initiative for an integrated gas pipeline network believes that “natural gas is the most efficient energy source in the world today and offers itself as a cheaper, cleaner and safer alternative, when compared to other forms of energy.”
He is delighted that Oando Gas and Power through its subsidiary, Gaslink has positioned itself well for the task of surmounting the challenge posed by the nation�s erratic power supply which has become the bane of businesses and industrialisation in Nigeria.
Gaslink has in deed been pioneering the delivery of natural gas by pipelines to industry users, especially in the Lagos area. The company has so far invested over US$ 200 million to develop the infrastructure. It plans to invest additional US$250 million yearly to further expand its network of gas pipeline to other parts of Nigeria.
There is no doubt that, for sometime now, the country has been in a quandary over what to do to fix the prostrate manufacturing sector which for long has been held down by the rising cost of production occasioned by poor power supply. The situation has not been helped by the fact that diesel which serves as alternative power generating fuel for industries is either scarce or too expensive to support industrial growth.
This is by every calculation, a troubling cast in the nation�s quest for economic growth.
Experts however believe that in climes with poor electricity supply natural gas offers a safer, cheaper, dependable and environmentally friendly alternative than other industrial fuels such as diesel and LPFO. Interestingly, says Osunsanya “with a rich proven reserve of natural gas, Nigeria stands a chance of offering her industries the gas option in abundance.”
As a nation with the world�s seventh largest gas deposit, Nigeria sure commands an awesome advantage as the world deepens the search for cleaner sources of energy.
Even at that the companies have not been able to make optimum use of this resource because the supply system in the country has continued to be epileptic and inadequate. It is the bid to address this need that has engendered the participation of the organised private sectors in the development of gas infrastructure in the country.
This is where Gaslink Nigeria Limited stands out. The company which pioneered private sector piping and distribution has been involved in the local distribution of natural gas to industrial and commercial consumers in Lagos since 2001. Today, with 100km of pipes already laid in Lagos State by Gaslink, and another 124 km in progress in Akwa Ibom/Cross River States to be managed by East Horizon Gas Company (EHGC), another subsidiary of Oando Gas and Power, the company is aggressively seeking other franchises in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.
Although he did not start off in the oil industry, Osunsanya who is now driving the gas supply train in the country has actually had a rewarding career in the sector. His stint in the industry started in 2001 when he joined the former Unipetrol Nig Plc as head of Lubes and Specialties. He later rose in 2004 to the post of chief marketing officer with the responsibility for national commercial sales.
Before entering the energy terrain, Osunsanya was a banker; his last post in the industry being the executive director, Marketing in Access Bank. Earlier, he had held several positions in Guaranty Trust Bank, where he rose to the position of assistant general manager.
As the boss of Oando Gas and Power, Osunsanya is said to be working round the clock to ensure that the company�s pipeline expansion programme, the independent power plant project as well as other projects in the West African sub-region progress as planned. The company is currently operating a 20-year Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) with the Nigeria Gas Company in line with the new national gas policy.
Recently Gaslink commissioned the third phase of its pipeline expansion programme in Lagos after successfully laying a 38km pipeline from Ikeja through Maryland and Iganmu to the ports in Apapa; a programme targeted at covering major industrial areas of Lagos State. It is the last leg of Gaslink�s phased coverage of Lagos industrial areas which started in 2001 with the construction of an initial 11.2 kilometre pipeline system with a capacity to deliver 15mmscf/d from the Nigerian Gas Company�s City Gate at Ikeja to the surrounding industrial areas in the capital city.
Osunsanya is optimistic that the completion of the extensive pipeline network in Lagos would increase supply flexibility with potentials for enhancing rapid industrial growth in the country and along the West African coast.
Besides supplying gas to industrial and domestic users, Oando Gas and Power is said to be poised to lend its support towards ensuring the serviceability of public utilities. In this regard it has already embarked on a partnership with the Lagos Water Corporations (LWC) to provide cost effective and regular power supply to LSWC facilities in a bid to ensure a steady supply of potable water in a state where supply has been pathetically epileptic.
Moreover, Osunsanya�s company is in the vanguard of the effort to develop compressed natural gas (CNG) for vehicular application; a project for which it is already collaborating with the Lagos State government to explore the prospects of reducing emissions and providing cleaner source of fuel to the state�s teeming motorists.
As the company consolidates its hold on piped gas, there are however concerns over the prospect of sustaining the flow of the product against the backdrop of mounting threat from militants in the Niger Delta; a development that has drastically cut oil export by a quarter in the last couple of months. But Osunsanya and his people are confident that Gaslink�s pipelines will not go dry, being that they have been meeting their obligation to their clients even in the heat of the crisis.