The $700m Obiafu/Obrikom/Oben gas pipeline, also known as OB3, was started in 2016 and is scheduled to be completed in March 2024, according to a Federal Government announcement made on Tuesday at the ongoing 7th Nigeria International Energy Summit in Abuja.
President Bola Tinubu also gave some explanations for why his government had to remove the gasoline subsidy despite its difficulty.
During his remarks at the summit, Ekperikpe Ekpo, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Gas, gave a couple of status reports on Nigeria’s gas industry. He described the OB3 gas pipeline as one of the largest gas transmission lines in Africa and Nigeria.
“Another milestone in our journey towards a gas-focused economy is the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline. I am pleased to report that significant progress has been made in the construction of this critical infrastructure project, and we are on track to ensure its completion and commissioning as scheduled.
“The Obiafu/Obrikom/Oben (OB3) is a vital piece of gas infrastructure for the supply of feedstock to the AKK pipeline. This pipeline is among the biggest gas transmission systems in both Nigeria and Africa.
“I am highly elated to announce that going by the contractor estimates, the OB3 pipeline will be completed by March 2024 and the 42” 127km pipeline will supply 2BCF (two billion standard cubic feet) per day,” Ekpo stated.
He praised NNPCL for its persistence in seeing that the OB3 pipeline project is completed on schedule and mentioned that, once it is, the pipeline will supply the AKK pipeline with gas from the three fields of Obiafu, Obrikom, and Oben.
The OB3 gas pipeline is expected to cost $700 million to build. The East-West Pipeline is another name for the project, which got underway at some point in 2016.
It is intended to transfer two billion standard cubic feet of gas per day from the Obiafu-Obrikom gas facility, which is located close to Omuku in Rivers State, to Oben in Edo State.