Presidential Taskforce Monitors Chevron Partial Gas Shutdown

The Presidential Task Force on Power (PTFP) has said that it was closely following up the shutdown of the Escravos gas plant belonging to Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) on the western gas network to the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) to ensure that the development did not extend beyond the stipulated timeframe.

Chairman of PTFP, Mr. Beks Dagogo-Jack, explained in a statement in Abuja, that the taskforce had also initiated measures to reduce the impact of the partial shutdown of the gas plant on electricity supply across the country.

The gas plant was shut down by CNL on November 26, 2012 as part of an important scheduled interruption to enable it tie in wells and lay pipes for sustainable gas supply to the domestic market and the gas-to-liquid plant. The partial shutdown was however expected to last for three weeks and would result in the reduction of gas supply by Chevron for electricity generation with a net reduction of about 300 megawatts (MW). Dagogo-Beks stated in the statement signed by Head of Communication at PTFP, Awele Okigbo, that additional quantity of power from hydro power stations in the country would be added to the grid to cushion the impact of the shortfall on electricity generation.

While admitting that the gas supply interruption would impact on electricity supply, the PTFP Chairman further said the impact had been sufficiently mitigated, adding that: “The impact of the gas interruption on electricity supply will be severely curtailed and we expect the supply to normalize with gas supply after the three-week duration of the interruption.”