Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, has said that the Obrikom, Obiafo and Oben (OB3) gas pipeline project will be completed by March 2024. He mentioned this develooment in Abuja on Tuesday, at the opening session of the seventh edition of the Nigerian International Energy Summit.
He said that the project is an important part of Nigeria’s infrastructure as it will serve as a crucial link to the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline.
“We have to increase gas production and one of the most important aspects of the gas for distribution is the OB3 project, which will enable the taking up of gas from the South-South part of the country up to the West and the North,” Ekpo said.
The minister emphasized the readiness of the federal government to see to the completion of major gas projects, in order to enable a smooth transition to cleaner energy.
The OB3 gas pipeline project is a 127 km, 48-inch gas pipeline. In terms of pipe size, it stands as one of the most substantial gas transmission pipelines in Nigeria and across Africa. Accompanied by a Gas Treatment Plant (GTP), the facility boasts a robust capacity of producing 2 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day (2bscf/d). Spanning from the Obiafu-Obrikom gas plant near Omuku, Rivers State, the OB3 gas pipeline extends to Oben, Edo State.
The project was earlier scheduled to be completed in 2019, but was delayed due to adverse weather conditions, the COVID-19 pandemic amongs others.
