The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said the average daily average national gas supply to gas power plants across the Nation increased to 689 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) in March 2017.
The amount translates to an equivalent of 3056 mage Watts (mw) to the sector during the month.
The increase in supply to the power sector came on the heels of gas production for the month which stood at 226.918 billion cubic feet, bcf, translating to over 7.319mmscfd of gas per day, mmscfd.
This is contained in the March 2017 edition of the monthly Financial and Operations Report of the Corporation released in Abuja over the weekend.
A press statement signed by the spokesperson of the Corporation, Ndu Ughamadu, noted that the move is part of effort to boost electric power generation in the country.
He added that the development may soon yield the required dividend in terms of power supply in the country.
Details of the March 2017 figure shows an improvement on the previous month’s record which stood at 582 mmscfd. The supply is also over 29 per cent higher than the corresponding supply record for March 2016.
According to the report, pipeline sabotage in the country increased from 49 downstream pipelines vandalized points in February 2017 to 94 in March 2017. This represents over 91 per cent increase relative to the previous months despite Federal Government’s and the NNPC’s continuous engagement with the stakeholders. Nevertheless, there is a noticeable improvement compared to corresponding period of March 2016 which posted 259 cases.
Also, in the downstream sector, NNPC has in stock a robust inland supply of over 1.2billion litres of petrol sufficient for more than 34 days forward consumption.
On Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK), NNPC continued to import to supplement AGO local refining, while the Central Bank has released foreign exchange to marketers to import AGO and ATK.
The report notes that the inaugurated 497.2 km System 2B petroleum pipeline network which was achieved within the period under review has helped the NNPC to sustain the gale of uninterrupted supply and distribution of products throughout the country.
Only recently, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, noted that the Corporation’s re-commissioned Mosimi and Kano depots had impacted positively on highways across the Country.
Dr. Baru had stated that the two depots had relieved the impacts of long haulage of petroleum products on the roads, saving the nation from serious environmental consequences of bridging to motorists, settlements along highways and the general ecosystem in the country.
The March 2017 NNPC monthly Financial and Operations Report is the 20th edition.
