The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Gas Aggregation Company Nigeria (GACN), Olalekan Ogunleye, has said that the adoption of gas as an alternate source of energy would lead to 20 percent reduction in operational costs for businesses.
Olalekan, during a visit to the corporate headquarters of Media Trust, publishers of Daily Trust and other titles, said the focus on gas was a deliberate effort to seek a flexible option in creating wealth opportunities in the country
Stating that GACN was set up with the mandate to support the expansion of gas utilisation in the country, he said engendering new power source for major energy users would create employment and prevent over reliance on national grid.
He noted that the agency has a flavour of the private sector as the NNPC has 30 percent stake in it while the big players in the energy industry own a cumulative share of 70 percent.
He disclosed that it has organised stakeholders in the southeast but it is shifting its attention to the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano pipeline project.
“It is the biggest gas infrastructure in Nigeria and we felt it should be done differently by not waiting for the pipelines to be commissioned before making the public know its benefits. This is the time to start sensitising the market and collaborate with other participants to develop the market,” he said.
He stated that the forum tagged, ‘Gas stakeholders forum for the AKK Project’, would hold in Kano State on July 29.
“The event will be practical, aside from the presentation to be delivered. A lot of major energy users in Kaduna or Kano may not be aware that there are solutions for them in the advent of the AKK. There will be an exhibition, where gas producers and pipeline companies will engage with power consumers. Also, gas generator companies that specialise in conversion from diesel generator to gas will be there,” he said.