Elisha Bala-Gbogbo
February 9, 2009 07:23PMT
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation [NNPC] and Gazprom, Russian gas giant, Friday reach agreement on a $2.5 billion investment to develop and produce Nigeria's natural gas.
Livi Ajounuma, General Manager Public, confirm to NEXT that "we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MOU]". He commented further on the deal saying, "It's a good thing. It means that a giant company [like Gazprom] can come to Nigeria."
Although much of the details are sketchy at the moment, the MOU signed entails a joint venture partnership on projects in Africa's largest oil and gas producer.
According to an official of Gazprom in Nigeria, "90 percent of it [the agreement] is for developing the domestic gas production, processing, and transportation."
"Well, it's part of it", concurred Mr. Ajuonuma.
The process began last September in Moscow. An agreement was reached in principle between Abubakar Yar'Adua, the former Group Managing Director of NNPC, and Alexei Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Gazprom.
Industry experts see the deal as a positive move by the federal government to utilize the huge gas resources of the country that have hitherto been wasted.
Nigeria has a proven natural reserve of about 184 trillion standard cubic feet [tscf]. Currently, about 24 billion standard cubic feet of gas is flared annually of the global total of 150 billion: the worst gas flare record in the world behind Russia.
This development has drawn the censure of the World Bank and major environmental bodies. The gas flared in Nigeria is enough to power the entire Sub-Saharan Africa.
February 9, 2009 07:23PMT
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation [NNPC] and Gazprom, Russian gas giant, Friday reach agreement on a $2.5 billion investment to develop and produce Nigeria's natural gas.
Livi Ajounuma, General Manager Public, confirm to NEXT that "we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MOU]". He commented further on the deal saying, "It's a good thing. It means that a giant company [like Gazprom] can come to Nigeria."
Although much of the details are sketchy at the moment, the MOU signed entails a joint venture partnership on projects in Africa's largest oil and gas producer.
According to an official of Gazprom in Nigeria, "90 percent of it [the agreement] is for developing the domestic gas production, processing, and transportation."
"Well, it's part of it", concurred Mr. Ajuonuma.
The process began last September in Moscow. An agreement was reached in principle between Abubakar Yar'Adua, the former Group Managing Director of NNPC, and Alexei Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Gazprom.
Industry experts see the deal as a positive move by the federal government to utilize the huge gas resources of the country that have hitherto been wasted.
Nigeria has a proven natural reserve of about 184 trillion standard cubic feet [tscf]. Currently, about 24 billion standard cubic feet of gas is flared annually of the global total of 150 billion: the worst gas flare record in the world behind Russia.
This development has drawn the censure of the World Bank and major environmental bodies. The gas flared in Nigeria is enough to power the entire Sub-Saharan Africa.