The Director of New Energy at Seplat PLC, Mr. Effiong Okon has disclosed plans of the company to build a new $250 million gas in Sapele, Delta state as part of the ongoing investment in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry.

Mr. Effiong disclosed this during Nigeria Oil and Gas Outlook themed Investing in Nigeria’s Energy Future held in Lagos.

While speaking during a panel discussion on secured energy transition towards gas, Mr. Effiong said, “We are also starting a brand-new plant in Sapele, the Sapele gas plant – another $250 million investment that will deliver a lot of LPGs to the market”

He explained that the company’s JV gas processing facility in Imo will be completed by December and ready for commissioning by January 2024.

Speaking further, Mr. Effiong noted that when it comes to investment in the oil and gas sector, the private sector should lead the investment while the government should support policies and ensure a safe environment.

Need for a separate policy on each gas component

Also speaking during the panel discussion was Felix Ekundayo who explained that Nigeria needs to have a separate policy for each of its oil and gas components noting that the term gas is a very broad term for the different components present in it.

He stated thus, “When we say gas, we are very blind about what we mean. Everybody understands that petrol, and diesel. kerosene but we don’t have that of gas. Gas can be distilled into two components, natural gas and LPG and within the LPG component, we have propane and butane, Nigeria needs to develop a policy for which one of the components. A kerosene policy does not work for gasoline”

He spoke on the need for local financing for downstream gas projects in Nigeria noting that foreign investments sometimes are not reliable.