AKK project: Nigerians will soon have cooking gas run at homes –Ajuluchukwu

From Idu Jude, Abuja

The management of Oilserv, the company handling the Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano (AKK) gas pipeline laying, is reassuring that every Nigerian home will be connected to cooking gas beginning from the first quarter of 2026.

Mr. Emmanuel Ajuluchukwu, the Operations and Technical Manager at Oilserv, who revealed this to Business Sun in Abuja while attending the just-concluded National Transportation Conference organised by CIOTA, stated that what is obtained in other parts of the world is no longer far from Nigerians.

While reiterating Oilserv’s commitment to deliver the AKK project, he said the construction company is presently handling lots of the projects, which cover about 303 kilometres of the pipeline, emphasising that the project is nearly completed, with more than 15 per cent of the welded pipes already laid.

“There is no doubt about it, and it is a strong commitment that every Nigerian home beginning from the first quarter of next year, there will be domestic gas at every home because apart from the major trunk lines, there are also a score of lines already ongoing, inch by inch. It aimed at distributing these gases to our doorsteps.”

Ajuluchukwu further highlighted that this is another project Oilserv is handling alongside the AKK project.

Speaking on the challenges, he said that the major threat to the project is the difficulty of the rocky features and that of crossing the River Niger, which is over a kilometre, but has been surmounted after the deployment of technical expertise.

“That was about four months ago, we used a horizontal directional approach. The HDD approach is a mechanism that we lay a pipeline with minimal impact on the environment. What that means is that you drill the horizontal hole, then you pull the product line. Yes, in doing this, we used some additives, like the bentonite, the barcows, and the rest, and having overcome that challenge, the Oilserv is in the position of delivering the AKK pipeline, within the first quarter of next year, and will be ready, by inch.”

“Again, we have rocky features, within the right of ways, whereby we require to drill through the rocks, or blast them, and for us to achieve the desired trench, where to lay the pipelines. It has been very challenging, but with the deployment of the 570 Sanvic drill machine, we were able to surmount that.”

He said the NNPC and other government agencies have been very supportive, and we are ensuring that the expectation of the NNPC and Nigerians on the project is delivered.

“You can say loud and clear that Oilserv is ready to commission the first 303 kilometres of AKK gas pipelines. These are cutting across Kogi State to Abuja, while that of Lot B, cutting across Kaduna, Niger State, is ongoing, although that is being handled by the federal government. The second phase is about six hundred and something kilometres. We are not new in this business, and we have in our record delivered over 933 pipelines across the nation.”

The Oilserv, he remarked, is a one-hundred per cent indigenous company with huge records of excellence.

Reiterated its commitment to deliver the AKK project, said it is presently handling lots of the project, which covers about 303 kilometres of line, and that the project is nearly completed, and more than 15 per cent of the welded pipes have been done.