The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has called on industry operators particularly large consumers of petroleum products to move from the use of diesel to gas because of its comparative advantages.
The NMDPRA Chief Executive, Farouk Ahmed made the call at a one-day Stakeholders Engagement on Gas Utilisation in Nigeria held at the Bristol Palace Hotel in Kano on Monday.
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Ahmed, who was represented by the Executive Director, Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, Mr. Ogbugo K. Ukoha said there was urgent need for large consumers of diesel to embrace the use of gas which has been designated as Nigeria’s transition fuel.
He noted that it was in this regard that the Federal Government has put in place various initiatives and policy framework including the natural gas expansion programme and the decade gas expansion programme.
“The PIA is poised to enable the growth of the industry. The twelve regulations recently gazetted unlock the golden opportunities and signpost the pathway to energy security,” he said.
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He expressed hope that the engagement would create the necessary awareness and make the compelling case for industry operators to foster a compliance culture which alone guarantees safer and sustainable facilities.
In his remarks, the NMDPRA Northwest Regional Coordinator, Mr. Shu’aibu Samuel said the event was designed to encourage industry operators to shift from the use of diesel to gas in view of the fact that gas is not only cheaper but it’s clean to the environment and has less carbon emission.
“One of the biggest challenge of industries is the supply of power and because of the challenge in the generation of electricity, companies have to rely on the use of generators to power their plants.
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“Because of the deregulated environment, the cost of production has increased. So, bringing in gas will help them (industries) stabilize to reduce their cost of production so that we can compete with products in other countries,” he said.
Also speaking, the Executive Director, DSSRI, Mr O. K. Ukoha, enjoined all petroleum handlers to fully comply with provisions of PIA and NMDPRA regulations to avoid strong regulatory enforcement which may adversely impact on business operations.
