… new contractors adopt advanced micro-tunneling technology enabling OB3 pipeline under River Niger
Oredola Adeola
After over seven years of attempts to meet the deadline, August 2024 has been set as the new completion date for the 48-inch, 127-kilometer, Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) Gas Pipeline project, with advanced Micro-Tunnelling/Direct Pipe Installation technology enabling the 48-inch pipeline to be laid beneath the riverbed, connecting Ndoni in Rivers State to Aboh in Delta State, and facilitating the critical River Niger Crossing operation.
This was jointly confirmed by Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), and Mr. Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., during an inspection tour of the OB3 pipeline River Niger Crossing operation at Aboh, Delta State, on Saturday.
Advisors Reports’ check showed that the OB3 Gas Pipeline project commenced in 2016 and was initially scheduled to be completed by the end of 2017, but had faced several delays due to technical challenges, COVID-19 pandemic, and a lack of political will to deliver on the mandate.
Meanwhile, Olufemi Soneye, NNPCL Chief Corporate Communications Officer, stated in a report obtained by Advisors following the Federal Government delegation’s visit led by the Minister, that by design, the OB3 Gas Pipeline serves as the inter-connector linking the Eastern gas pipeline network to the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) in the West and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Pipeline in the North.
He stated that the River Niger Crossing operation has been the major impediment to the completion of the strategic OB3 Gas Pipeline for over three years due to the failure of the various technologies deployed to achieve the construction of the 48-inch pipe under the riverbed between Ndoni in Rivers State and Aboh in Delta State.
Soneye, therefore, emphasised in the statement that the new contractors, Messrs. HDD Thailand/Enikkom and Tunnelling Services Group (TSG), are making headway having deployed the Micro-Tunnelling/Direct Pipe Installation technology for the project, with about 860 metres out of the 1,800 metres achieved so far.
Kyari, NNPCL GCEO speaking after the inspection tour, expressed delight at the breakthrough, which according to him, signals the imminent completion of the project.
The NNPCL GCEO said, “I am very happy and convinced that latest by the middle of August, we will complete this project. I have been assured of that by the project team.”
He said, “This is a major project of monumental value to our country. What this means is that this is the only way we can deliver the gas revolution.
“Once completed, we will see about 2.2 billion standard cubic feet of gas coming into our network. We believe that this will give our country a breathing space of demand, I am sure we can catch up with that kind of demand in the next one and a half years.
“We are happy that this will give us the platform to unleash the gas revolution in our country,” Kyari stated.
Rt. Hon. Ekpo, in his remark during the tour, expressed satisfaction with the pace of work at the OB3 River Niger Crossing operation, describing it as “Renewed Hope at work”.
He said, “I was here last year, and I saw the work that was going on. There was a promise that it would be completed by December last year. I took it with a doubt.
“But today, from what I can see, I am confident that by July or August, it will be completed, and it will be commissioned by the President”, the Minister stated.
Olu Verheijen, the Special Adviser to the President Bola Tinubu on Energy, in her comment, said she was looking forward to the completion of the project, having been assured by the technical team that the right technology has been found to resolve the complex challenges of the River Niger Crossing.
“As the Minister and other speakers have said, we are looking forward to having this project deliver prosperity to Nigerians in the form of electricity and other areas,” Verheijen said.
Mr. Ingo Justen, Managing Director of Tunnel Service Group (TSG), who is one of the contractors for the project and was personally on the ground to supervise the project at the request of the GCEO, expressed confidence that the current technology being applied in the execution of the project would lead to its speedy conclusion.
Engr. Seyi Omotowa Managing Director of NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC), in an earlier presentation, disclosed that at the rate of progress with the new technology deployed, the River Niger Crossing operation, which is the only aspect of the OB3 Gas Pipeline Project left, will be achieved on schedule.
The Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline project has faced numerous delays since its initial projection for completion in Q4 2018.
In December 2017, an NNPC executive anticipated finishing by the end of 2018, but rain and flooding pushed this to early 2019.
Further delays were announced in 2019, and by March 2020, the completion was rescheduled to Q1 2021 due to technical challenges and COVID-19 disruptions.
Despite efforts by a new contractor, China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Corporation, the project remained incomplete as of July 2022, primarily due to difficulties in constructing the pipeline under the Niger River.
The OB3 gas pipeline project has faced numerous delays since its initial completion projection. In December 2017, the FG anticipated finishing by the end of 2018, but rain and flooding pushed this to early 2019.
Further delays were announced throughout 2019, and by March 2020, the completion was rescheduled to Q1 2021 due to technical challenges and COVID-19 disruptions.
Despite efforts by a new contractor, China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Corporation, the project remained incomplete as of July 2022, primarily due to difficulties in constructing the pipeline under the Niger River.
Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), set deadlines for December 2023 and March 2024, both of which were missed.
