Oando-OilServe consortium wins as NNPC awards $2.8 billion gas pipeline deals

An indigenous consortium comprising of Oando Plc and OilServe Nigeria Limited has emerged one of two winners of a $2.8 billion gas pipeline deal announced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Friday.

The announcement did not state how much each individual contract was worth. A third contract is set to be executed in the coming weeks, according to the NNPC.

The contracts were awarded for engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and financing of 614km Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline and Stations.

Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC’s spokesman, said in Abuja that the AKK Gas Pipeline and Stations Project comprising Lots 1 and 3, measured 40inch x 614km. According to him, the agreement, which is 100 per cent contractor-financing model, has been signed with a consortium of indigenous and Chinese companies.

“Under the terms of contract, Lot 1, with total length of 40 inch x 200km stretching from Ajaokuta to Abuja Terminal Gas Station (TGS), was awarded to the OilServe/Oando Consortium.

“Lot 3, which runs from Kaduna TGS to Kano TGS with a total length of 40inch x 221km, was awarded to the Brentex/China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau Consortium. It is envisaged that contract agreement for Lot 3 which covers 40inch x 193km, stretching from Abuja to Kaduna, will be executed in the weeks ahead,” he said.

The AKK project is a section of the Trans-Nigerian Gas Pipeline under the Gas Infrastructure Blueprint designed to enable industrialisation of the eastern and northern parts of Nigeria, Ughamadu said, adding that the project would enable connectivity between the east, west and north, currently non-existent.

He noted that the AKK section had suffered setbacks due to scarce resources, hence, the adoption of the contractor-financing model.

“The two other pipelines, the OB3 and ELPs 2 in the Gas Master Plan Blueprint, are currently at various stages of completion and financed directly by the Federal Government,” he said.

The spokesman quoted Emeka Okwuosa, chairman of Oilserve/Oando Consortium, as lauding the Federal Government and the NNPC for providing the opportunities for indigenous companies to flourish in the oil and gas industry. According to the NNPC official,

Okwuosa said that award of Lot 1 of the AKK Project to an indigenous consortium showed government’s determination to encourage local content philosophy.