Clara Nwachukwu

PARTICIPANTS in the just-concluded 7th International Confere-ce and Exhibition, in Abuja, were thrown into confusion by claims and counter claims of budgetary appropriation by the National Assembly for Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC gas projects.

The Group Managing Director, of the NNPC, Mr Austen Oniwon, trying to defend the inability of the corporation to execute more gas projects that will meet Federal Government’s aspiration of efficient and effective supply of electricity to Nigerians, blamed the National Assembly for not approving two of its major projects contained in this year’s national budget.

He told the audience that the NNPC was particularly constrained by some challenges, especially with regard to gas infrastructure, which is one of  the impediments to gas development in the country.

According to him, “Two of our major gas projects contained in this year’s budget: the Calabar-Ajaokuta Gas Pipeline Project, and the Ajaokuta-Kano Gas Pipeline Project, which would facilitate the transport of gas in the country, but was not approved by the Senate.”

He said the NNPC has several bankable projects and developed framework agreements between gas producers and consumers, as the world was currently in the gas age with everyone wanting to be part of it. He added that the corporation is in talks with major international firms for the development of petrochemicals and other related industry that will create jobs for Nigerians.
Senate fires back

However, the Chairman Senate Committee on Gas, Senator Osita Izunaso, in a quick response, expressed legislators’ unhappiness with both the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the NNPC for their inability to make use of already appropriated funds for the above gas projects.He said, “The NNPC GMD said the said did not approve the appropriation for the execution of two of its critical gas projects.