From Magnus Eze, Enugu
Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has called for increased utilisation of gas in the South East.
Its Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed made the call at a stakeholders’ engagement on gas utilization held in Enugu, yesterday. He said the Federal Government through various engagements was seeking to catalyse gas investments and improve domestic usage.
He said: “This epoch-making engagement seeks to encourage large consumers of petroleum products to not only operate within the regulatory space but also to become aware of the comparative advantages between the different fuels, particularly gas which has been designated as Nigeria’s transition fuel. It is in this regard that the Federal Government has put in place various initiatives and policy frameworks including National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) and the Decade of Gas Programme (DOGP). The Petroleum Industry Act (2021) has also established within the Authority, the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund to catalyze gas investments. These efforts are yielding significant results, yet more collaborations and interventions are needed to improve domestic gas utilization.”
Ahmed expressed the optimism that the engagement would create the necessary wareness and make the compelling case for industry operators to foster a compliance culture which would guarantees safer and sustainable facilities.
In a keynote address, NMDPRA’s Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, Ogbugo Ukoha said the session was to enlighten the end-user category on the need to urgently obtain the requisite petroleum storage license and to engender the transition from white products to gas at the last mile.
According to him, gas as the transition fuel represents a cleaner and more cost-effective energy source, hence, he encouraged operators and businesses in the zone to “take advantage of the evolving opportunities in the gas value-chain for sustainable business growth by positioning their energy needs to embrace gas derivatives in order to hedge against future global uncertainties to diesel supply.”
He appealed on behalf of the NMDPRA to all petroleum handlers to fully comply with the provisions of the PIA and NMDPRA regulations so as to avoid strong regulatory enforcement which may adversely impact on business operations.