The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board has announced the signing of an agreement with Shell Nigeria Gas for the lease of one hectare of its land at Polaku, Bayelsa State, for the development of a Pressure Reduction and Metering Station by Shell.
The agreement was signed in Abuja by the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Simbi Wabote, and the Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Gas, Mr Ed Ubong, the NCDMB said in a statement.
Wabote said the board decided to use part of its land to catalyse the distribution and availability of natural gas to domestic gas to users within Bayelsa and neighbouring states.
According to him, the availability of natural gas will open up the corridor of opportunities for new and existing investors.
”With the extension of the gas pipeline network by SNG, more businesses can be supplied with natural gas thereby creating employment and enabling impactful economic activities. With this partnership, we expect 30,000 direct and indirect jobs to be created in construction, manufacturing, and services sector within the next two years,” he said.
Wabote noted that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, had declared 2020 as the year of gas, and the NCDMB had bought into this declaration.
He said the partnership with SNG would enable the provision of natural gas for power generation, feedstock, transportation, and for other industrial uses.
He added that SNG’s project aligned with the board’s 10-year roadmap, which aimed at increasing the level of Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry to 70 per cent by 2027.
The SNG managing director conveyed Shell’s excitement to distribute gas from its Gbarain-Ubie facility to drive economic development in Bayelsa State and environs.
He described Shell as the pioneer and leader in the delivery of domestic gas.
The Chairman, Shell Nigeria Gas Limited, Mr Hans Nijkamp, said the investment would unlock gas delivery and economic development in Bayelsa State.
“Everywhere we have distributed gas, we have seen the explosion of economic activities. That’s Shell’s domestic agenda for gas in Nigeria is very important and we have growth plans and very excited to work together with NCDMB,” he added.
