The Ajaokuta-Kano-Kaduna pipeline (AKK) project was conceived to improve gas supply across the country, beginning from the North. That was the promise made to Nigerians when the project was flagged off in 2020. But six years later, its operation is still hinged on hope, as insecurity, financial constraint and geography have continued to delay its fruition. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), which is the financier, said it had reached a 98 per cent completion rate as the pipeline laying had been completed from Ajaokuta in Kogi State to Kano State. The NNPCL, however, said effort was focused on above-ground facilities that would aid off-take and effective monitoring of the gas flow; meaning that there is no clear date on when the project would kick off. But the spokesperson of the oil company told Weekend Trust that it is considering September this year for commissioning. Jostle for deputy gov’ship slots intensifies as INEC opens portal today ‘Why AKK project is being delayed’ Checks by Weekend Trust showed that major gas stations and terminals to be constructed along the pipeline’s corridor were yet to start, with the exception of the Ajaokuta axis. At Ajaokuta, it was learnt that private investors have begun constructing terminals and stations to off-take gas to other parts of the North as it is the only feasible way to evacuate gas to be supplied through the pipeline. According to a source, this model is to ease availability of gas while construction of ancillary infrastructures continues. Experts also said the continuous delay in the project was putting Nigeria’s credibility on the line as the AKK is important to the realisation of the Trans-Saharan Pipeline project that would enable Nigeria to supply gas to Europe. Brief on the AKK Described as the single biggest gas pipeline project in the history of oil and gas operation in Nigeria, the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline is a 40inch by 614km gas pipeline estimated to cost $2.8 billion. Its history could be traced to 2008 when the federal government approved the Nigerian Gas Master Plan (NGMP) to accelerate the development of gas pipeline infrastructure for domestic and export markets. The AKK gas pipeline project thus constituted phase 1 of the Trans-Nigeria Gas Pipeline (TNGP) project. The pipeline will originate from Ajaokuta, traversing Abuja, Kaduna to terminate at a terminal gas station in Kano. The process for the award of the AKK project started in July 2013 with the advertisement for tenders published by the NNPC in major national newspapers. The AKK contract stirred controversy in October 2017 following a leaked memo by a former Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, to the late President Muhammadu Buhari on August 30, 2017 alleging a breach of due process in the award. While the controversy was settled, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), at its 46th meeting on December 13, 2017, approved the contract valued at over $2.8 billion. Explaining further during the contract signing for lot 1&3 of the pipeline in April 2018, the late Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, said the AKK gas pipeline was a section of the TNGP under the gas infrastructure blueprint designed to enable the industrialisation of the eastern and northern parts of Nigeria. He noted that upon completion in 24 months – from June 2020 to June 2022 – the AKK gas pipeline would enable connectivity between the East, West and North, which is currently non-existent. The company also said the contract was awarded to a consortium of indigenous and Chinese entities under a 100 per cent contractor-financing model with Lot 1, which has a total length of 40inch x 200km, stretching from Ajaokuta to the Abuja Terminal Gas Station, awarded to the OilServe/Oando Consortium with a contract value of $855 million. Lot 2, which contract agreement is yet to be executed, covers 40inch x 193km, stretching from Abuja to Kaduna with a contract value of $835 million, and Lot 3, which runs from the Kaduna Terminal Gas Station (TGS) to Kano TGS with a total length of 40inch x 221km, was awarded to the Brentex/China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPP) Consortium under a contract value of $1.2 billion. But it took two years before the government flagged off the project. How the pipeline would work The AKK was designed to complement other major domestic gas transmission systems, namely: the Western System, that is the existing 36-inch Escravos-Lagos pipeline I and II with 2.2billion cubic feet per day capacity and the East-West connection via the OB3 pipeline featuring 2.4billion cubic feet per day capacity. Originating from Ajaokuta in Kogi State and traversing Abuja (FCT), Niger, Kaduna and terminate in Kano, it was stated that it would boost domestic utilisation of natural gas for Nigeria’s social economic development when completed. It would also unlock 2
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