Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, speaks at the inaugural US-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue, hosted by the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC. Tuesday.
The $550 million upstream gas project between the NNPC Ltd and TotalEnergies on the development of the Ubeta field, according to a statement from the communications department of NNPCL, has taken off.
Olu Verheijen had disclosed this at an inaugural US-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue, hosted by the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC.
The Final Investment Decision (FID) on the project had earlier taken place in Abuja. The field, discovered in 1964, is located northwest of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Speaking at a luncheon organized as part of the inaugural US-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue, Verheijen said the upstream gas project would deliver 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day when operational.
Verheijen added that all the major energy reforms introduced by the presidency since June 2023 have their focus centred on improving energy security, attracting investments, and deepening collaboration with key partners which do not exclude the US government.
She said the key reforms had improved the viability of the gas-to-power value chain of the country.
The reforms, according to her, included initiatives to improve cash flows in electricity distribution through smart metering and the payment of outstanding debts owed investors and to reduce carbon emissions from gas production.
Adding that Bola Ahmed Tinubu had issued five extra executive orders in order to support the reform efforts, aimed at providing fiscal incentives for investment and reducing the cost and time of finalizing and implementing contracts to develop and expand gas infrastructure.
The presidential aide said the directives were aimed at unlocking, instantly, up to $2.5 billion in new oil and gas investments in the country.
Responding, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources, Geoffrey Pyatt, said the dialogue was apt and strategic.
“The inaugural U.S.-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue has set the stage for strengthened energy collaboration between the United States and Nigeria. Together, we’re advancing shared energy security, decarbonisation, and economic growth goals,” he said.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, led the Nigerian delegation to the event. Officials from the Ministry of Power, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, and NNPC Limited were also in attendance.
The U.S. delegation included representatives from the Bureau of African Affairs, USAID, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.