Oredola Adeola
The Gas Supply and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) to support the Final Investment Decision (FID) for the $3.6 billion Brass methanol plant and gas processing plant in Odioma, Brass Island, Bayelsa State, to be executed by May, 2024.
Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), confirmed this in a statement released by Louis Ibah, his spokesman on Wednesday after a meeting held with key stakeholders of the project at the NNPC Towers Abuja office.
Advisors Reports gathered that the meeting was to establish adequate gas supply to the Brass Methanol Project by the NNPC/Shell/TotalEnergies/NAOC Joint Venture (JV), as well as determine the next steps to conclude and execute the GSPA and mature the phase 2 of gas supply to the project.
Ekpo at the meeting informed the officials of President Bola Tinubu’s strong interest in resolving issues relating to gas supply to the Brass Methanol Project.
He said the President was passionate about the speedy kick off of the project so that it could bring in the much needed FDI with attendant economic benefits to the country.
“Mr. President is very passionate about this project and wants something positive to happen in respect of the Brass Methanol project before the end of May this year,” Ekpo said.
At the end of the meeting, Ekpo announced he had successfully resolved the GSPA issue as the deal would be sealed by May that the NNPC/SPDC JV partners are now fully committed to uninterrupted gas supply for the development of the project.
The Brass Methanol Project, located on Brass Island in Bayelsa State, is sponsored by Brass Fertilizer & Petrochemical Company Limited (BFPCL) which is a joint venture between DSV Engineering Limited, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The gas processing plant, which is at the heart of this project, is designed to produce an impressive 10,000 tons of methanol daily. This is part of the government’s broader plan to aggregate and monetize all stranded gas in the Brass area, which is estimated to amount to over 10 trillion cubic feet of gas.
The government is also hopeful that the project will help to reduce the country’s reliance on imported refined products, thereby saving valuable foreign exchange and boosting the country’s energy security.
Present at the meeting were the Head of Joint Venture (JV), Investment Management, NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services, Mr. Olanrewaju Igandan; Deputy Managing Director, Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), Mr. Richard Orianzi; Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor; Managing Director of Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Ltd, Mr. Ben Okoye, among others.
