The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) announced on Saturday that the Obiafu/Obrikom/Oben (OB3) gas pipeline is expected to be completed by August, 2024. Olufemi Soneye, NNPC Ltd’s chief corporate communications officer, shared this update in a statement.
Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, made this announcement during an inspection of the OB3 pipeline’s River Niger crossing operation in Aboh, Delta State. “This project is of monumental value to our country, crucial for delivering the gas revolution. I am confident that by mid-August, we will complete this project, as assured by the project team,” said Mr. Kyari. He added that the pipeline would bring approximately 2.2 billion standard cubic feet of gas into the network, which is expected to meet the country’s gas demand over the next one and a half years and support the gas revolution.
Mele Kyari, Managing Director, NNPC
The $700 million OB3 gas pipeline, under construction by NNPC Ltd for years, has faced several delays. Initially reported as 80% complete in December 2016, it was intended to be finished by the end of 2017. However, technical challenges, including horizontal drilling under major rivers, caused delays. Further complications from rain, flooding, and the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as changes in contracting agreements, pushed back the completion date.
In February, the Nigerian government projected a March 2024 completion. Now, NNPC Ltd aims to finish the pipeline soon, marking a significant step toward enhancing nationwide gas supply to drive industrialization and economic growth.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, expressed satisfaction with the project’s progress, dubbing it “Renewed Hope at work.” He noted that he was initially doubtful of the December 2023 completion promise but is now confident the project will be finished by July or August, ready for commissioning by the President.
Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, is also optimistic about the project’s completion, having been assured by the technical team that the right technology is in place to overcome the River Niger crossing challenges.
Ingo Justen, Managing Director of Tunnel Service Group (TSG), one of the project’s contractors, also expressed confidence in the current technology being used, anticipating a speedy completion.
The OB3 gas pipeline is designed to connect the Eastern gas pipeline network with the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) in the West and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Pipeline in the North. The River Niger crossing has been the main obstacle to the pipeline’s completion for over three years, due to the failure of various technologies to install the 48-inch pipe under the river bed between Ndoni in Rivers State and Aboh in Delta State. However, with the new Micro-Tunnelling/Direct Pipe Installation technology, contractors HDD Thailand/Enikkom and Tunnelling Services Group (TSG) have made significant progress, completing about 860 meters of the 1,800-meter stretch so far.