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FOLLOWING his consultations with stakeholders in the oil rich Niger Delta States, the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has said that a plan to establish a gas industrial park valued at about $20billion in the region has begun. Tagged “the Gas Revolution Industrial Park, GRIP”, Ogidigben, the project which would be realised by Public-Private Partnership was also envisaged to be a regional hub for all gas-based industries.

The project would cover 2700 hectares of land with fertiliser, methanol, petrochemicals, and aluminium plants located in the park that has already been designated as a Tax Free Zone by the federal government. The industrial park would be a cluster for several industries in one location benefiting from an efficient, cost-competitive and abundant supply of natural gas, proximity to a deep sea port and centralized utilities, and services such as uninterrupted power, world class telecommunications and processed water.

The park, originally conceived by NNPC, is located about 60km from Warri, and is about 1km away from the operational base of Chevron Nigeria Limited. It will be connected to over 18 trillion Cubic Feet of gas reserves in fields such as Odidi, Okan, and Forcados, located within a 50km radius.

It is equally planned that the park will be connected to Nigeria’s most dominant gas pipeline network-ELPS, enabling supply of gas to and from the park.

Speaking while meeting with international developers and investors of the project at the presidential Villa, Osinbajo stated that the Buhari administration “is committed to the development of the Niger Delta, and the importance of this project is underlined by the presidential attention it is attracting. The presidency is very interested.”

Osinbajo had prior to now at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari embarked on visits to oil-producing communities to demonstrate the resolve of the administration in the pursuit of a new vision for the Niger Delta.

“We already have a Steering Committee in place, chaired by the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and that shows the level of our commitment. We are unwavering.

“We take the project very seriously and glad to see you are committed and ready to make several other commitments. This is a process that we intend to see happen.” A statement issued at the end of the meeting stated that “the building of an industrial gas hub in Ogidigben, Delta State, was one of the feedbacks that were received during the visit to the state.”

—  Mar 13, 2017 @ 01:00 GMT

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