February 08, (THEWILL) — The commencement of production in January 2026 at Seplat Energy’s 300 MMcfd ANOH gas project situated in Imo State signifies a pivotal moment in Nigeria’s economic development strategy. It also represents a significant milestone in the nation’s ‘Decade of Gas Initiative’ (DoG), which was introduced in March 2021.
The DoG aims to convert Nigeria into a gas-powered economy and an African gas powerhouse by the year 2030, utilising the country’s extensive natural gas reserves for power generation, industrialization, domestic gas consumption, and exports
The ANOH gas plant, a joint venture between Seplat Energy and Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company, consists of two 150 MMscfd gas processing units, LPG recovery and condensate stabilisation units, a 16MW power plant, and supporting facilities. The plant operates with zero routine flares and is part of Seplat’s strategy to achieve its onshore End of Routine Flaring programme.
Besides enhancing the DoG, the project significantly advances Nigeria’s local content policy by increasing indigenous participation, enhancing technical capacity, and boosting domestic energy supplies. As a joint venture between Seplat and the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC), the project exemplifies the shift towards local, indigenous-led energy development.
Industry experts emphasise that the strategic acquisition of the formerly owned international oil companies’ (IOC) facilities by Nigerian investors, and the historic emergence of Seplat’s ANOH plant, is a landmark achievement by the indigenous oil and gas operators.
They also consider it a huge opportunity for the Nigerian Content Monitoring and Development Board (NCMDB) to advance its mandate.
The primary objective of NCDMB is to promote and develop Nigerian content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, ensuring the growth and utilisation of local capabilities, goods, and services.
Key ways the ANOH gas plant promotes Nigeria’s local content policy include:
Boosts Local Indigenous Participation: The project is a 50-50 joint venture between Seplat (a leading Nigerian independent energy company) and NNPC Limited’s subsidiary, NGIC, ensuring local control and ownership of critical infrastructure.
Enhances In-Country Technical Capacity: The facility is designed to operate with zero routine flaring and features two 150 MMscfd processing units, bringing advanced, high-standard technology to be managed by local personnel.
Strengthens Local Supply Chain: The project involves the 11km Indorama pipeline and the OB3 pipeline, providing, and using, local contractor services for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC).
Increases Domestic Energy Supply: By providing 300 MMscfd of processed gas and LPG, it directly supports the Federal Government’s ‘Decade of Gas’ strategy, reducing dependence on imported fuels and boosting local industrialisation, particularly for the Indorama Petrochemical Plant.
Job Creation: The development and operation of the plant in Imo State provides thousands of jobs for local workers and support local community contractors, furthering the objectives of the NCDMB.
The ANOH project is identified as one of the seven critical gas development projects by the Federal Government, making it a ‘poster child’ for local content implementation.
Gas sector capacity enhancement targets massive investments to build, upgrade and enhance the capacities of manpower and institutions and manpower development infrastructure in the gas sector.
The NCDMB has a huge role to play in this regard as the flagship institution for content development and capacity building in the oil and gas sector along with the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) and specialised oil and gas higher institutions of learning in Nigeria.
The expertise acquired by the Nigerian operators in Engineering, Procurement, Installation, Operation and Maintenance (EPICOM) space equips them to undertake a wide range of technical jobs in the opportunities created by the Seplat’s AHON project.
On the human capacity development side, the NCDMB is partnering with educational institutions and skill acquisition centres towards equipping Nigerian youths for the challenge of managing the facilities acquired or built by indigenous operators.
For instance, the NCDMB and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), with its joint venture (JV) partners built a world-class engineering design studio and an information and communication technology (ICT) hub at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Imo State.
The facilities were conceived and donated in furtherance of the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (HCD) programme which had focused lately on institutional strengthening, equipping universities and revamping select technical and vocational schools across the country.
It was in a bid to develop competent technical manpower and craftsmen needed in the oil and gas industry and the linkage sectors.
Seplat’s AHON gas project falls into the framework of Nigeria’s DoG initiative which include:
1. Gas infrastructure development: development of crucial gas infrastructure such as pipelines, gas processing facilities, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants to increase production, processing and development of gas across the country.
2. Policy reform and regulatory framework: reforms streamlining licensing procedures, improving fiscal incentives and enabling business environment/creating conducive investment and operational climate in the gas sector in order to attract and retain the required capital and expertise to realise the laudable goals of the Initiative.
3. Gas export: Nigeria intends to capitalise on the global demand for clean energy by expanding its capacity to produce and export liquefied natural gas (LNG) through existing platforms like the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) plant and the West Africa Gas Project (WAGP) and additional major LNG projects to be delivered through strategic partnerships with international investors to increase our share of the LNG market and generate additional foreign exchange from gas exports.
4. Gas to power: significantly expand gas utilization by providing feedstock to power Nigeria’s thermal plants.
5. Gas for homes: the plan is to significantly expand the adoption of clean energy in Nigerian homes in line with the energy transition programme and sustainable use of energy by increasing the use of natural gas for cooking, reduce reliance on traditional use of firewood and kerosene, thereby improving on air quality in our homes and reducing deforestation.
6. Gas to industry: stimulate industrial growth and job creation by the use of natural gas in powering industrialisation, thereby improving on the competitiveness of our manufacturers, attracting foreign investment inflows and reducing the levels of emissions in line with our 2060 net zero emission target.
It is expected that the identification of more than 50 gas utilisation projects across the midstream and downstream segments could generate over four million jobs by 2030.
Commenting, the Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy, Roger Brown, said the project increases the company’s onshore gas processing capacity to over 850 MMscfd and is expected to contribute materially to its 2030 production target of 200 kboepd.
“ANOH is the first of the seven critical gas development projects identified by the Federal Government of Nigeria to commence operations. It is an important strategic project for Seplat, our partner NGIC, and Nigeria as a whole. It has taken a significant amount of commitment and hard work to complete the project in a part of the onshore Niger Delta with limited gas pipeline infrastructure, and we are extremely proud of this achievement.
“ANOH will provide material income streams for Seplat, reduce our carbon intensity and contribute significantly to the 2030 production target of 200 kboepd, set at our recent CMD. It will also increase energy access for Nigerians in terms of both power and clean cooking fuel for the local communities while advancing delivery of our mission to support economic prosperity in Nigeria.”
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
