Yar’Adua Approves New Gas Policy
02.08.2008
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua yesterday took a major step forward in addressing the nation’s energy and power supply problems by approving a new National Gas Pricing Policy and Regulations.
The policy/regulation is aimed at ensuring short and long term gas availability, at affordable prices, for all domestic consumption and for sectors that have significant multiplier effects on the national economy.
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Communications, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, the two new policy documents approved by Yar’Adua are also expected to boost the pace of industrial development in the country by ensuring competitive gas prices for all gas consuming sectors of the economy.
Under the new pricing policy, Nigeria’s gas will be supplied at the lowest commercially sustainable prices to the strategic domestic sector which provides electricity for residential and light commercial users.
“The newly policy for the country’s Strategic Industrial Sector, comprising industries that require gas as their main feedstock, such as fertilizer and methanol producers, is expected to make such industries as competitive as their counterparts in other low-cost gas producing countries.
“The new gas policy further stipulates that all operators in the country’s oil industry must realign their gas development portfolios in order to ensure that gas resources which are rich in natural gas liquids NGLs), including condensate and LPGs, are directed to strategic domestic sectors.
“The policy objective is to ensure that all NGL-rich gas in Nigeria is preferentially deployed for domestic use rather than for export.
“Under the new policy regime, all oil and gas developers in the country are expected to allocate a specified amount of gas from their reserves and annual production to the domestic market”, he said.
The statement added that the amount of gas to be reserved for domestic consumption will be periodically determined by the Minister of State (Gas) in the Federal Ministry of Energy.
“A Department of Gas is to be established in the Federal Ministry of Energy to oversee the implementation of the new gas policy and regulations”, he said.
Meanwhile, the President has said Nigeria was watching the situation in Chad Republic, with a view to getting the two sides to the negotiating table.
The President was speaking to the Burkinabe Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, Mr. Salif Diallo, who brought a special message from President Blaise Campaore to the State House.
“We are watching the situation in Chad, including the efforts of Libya as mandated by the African Union, and will soon bring the government and the rebels to the negotiating table”, he assured.
Responding to a request for the supply of petroleum products from Nigeria, President Yar’Adua assured the Burkinabe minister that Nigeria would assist appropriately.
Earlier, Mr. Diallo had called on Nigeria to continue her leadership role in the West African sub-region by intervening for a return of peace to Chad.
Also yesterday, President Yar’Adua received a special message from President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal. It was delivered by Maitre Souleymane Ndene Ndiaye, Special Envoy of the Senegalese President. The content of the message was not disclosed.
