Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC)which was resposible for over 75 per cent of gas to thermal stations across the country said it is temporarily closing Sapele and Oben gas plants as part of the re-commissioning of the Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP).
SPDC Managing Director and Country Chair, Shell Nigeria, Mutiu Sunmonu, according to a statement from the Media Relation Manager ,Mr Tony Okonedo said: “We are totally committed to supplying gas for power generation as has been the case for a very long time, and we have delayed the shut down in order to minimise the impact it will have.
“However, recent sabotage incidents have resulted in damage to the TFP and we have been unable to evacuate the condensate that is produced with the gas through this pipeline. Accordingly, we resorted to temporary evacuation and storage at the Warri Refinery for which we are most grateful for the understanding and responsiveness of NNPC. In the absence of this, we would have had no alternative than to shut down the gas plants until the damaged liquids evacuation pipeline is re-commissioned.”
SPDC Joint Venture has the capacity to supply about 500 million standard cubic feet per day of gas into the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System, all things being equal. It recently completed repairs on the latest sabotage leaks, and is now ready to re-commission the Trans Forcados Pipeline.
Mr. Sunmonu added: “We deeply regret the inconvenience any temporary shutdown might cause but it is absolutely necessary that we repair damaged facilities and bring them to safe and normal operations as quickly as possible. We sincerely thank NNPC for their support in condensate handling in the past months.
It would be recalled that SPDC Joint Venture pioneered gas supply to industries in Nigeria in the 1960s, and currently supplies over 75 per cent of the domestic gas for power and other industries in Nigeria..