The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has rescheduled the completion date for the $700 million Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) gas pipeline project to August 2024. Initially slated for March 2024, the project, which began in 2016, is now set to finish later this summer.
The Federal Government had previously announced the March deadline through Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo, at the 7th Nigeria International Energy Summit in Abuja. Described as one of Africa’s largest gas transmission systems, the OB3 pipeline is designed to supply two billion standard cubic feet of gas per day.
NNPC’s spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, confirmed the new timeline in a statement issued in Abuja, citing remarks from Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari. During an inspection tour of the OB3 pipeline’s River Niger Crossing operation in Aboh, Delta State, Kyari expressed confidence in the project’s imminent completion, highlighting significant progress by contractors Messrs HDD Thailand/Enikkom and Tunnelling Services Group (TSG).
Kyari stated, “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. I am very happy and convinced that, latest by the middle of August, we will complete this project.”
The OB3 pipeline will connect the Eastern gas pipeline network to the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System in the West and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline in the North. The River Niger Crossing operation, a critical segment of the project, faced delays due to technical challenges in laying a 48-inch pipe under the river bed between Ndoni in Rivers State and Aboh in Delta State. The new Micro-Tunnelling/Direct Pipe Installation technology has facilitated significant progress, with about 860 meters completed out of a required 1,800 meters.
Ekpo, expressing satisfaction with the project’s progress, stated, “I am confident that by July or August, it will be completed and it will be commissioned by the President.” Similarly, Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, voiced optimism about the project’s benefits for Nigeria’s energy sector.
Ingo Justen, Managing Director of Tunnel Service Group, affirmed that the applied technology would ensure the project’s swift completion. Seyi Omotowa, Managing Director of NNPC Gas Infrastructure Company, confirmed that the River Niger Crossing operation is on track to meet the revised schedule.
The OB3 pipeline, also known as the East-West Pipeline, aims to transport over two billion standard cubic feet of gas per day, linking the Obiafu-Obrikom gas plant in Rivers State to Oben in Edo State.
