The Bayelsa State Government has closed a business deal in the hydrocarbon value chain with the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) by entering into a gas sale agreement through Bayelsa Development and Investment Corporation (BDIC) for the purpose of power supply to the Kolo Creek Gas Turbine, ThisDay reports.
The Gas Turbine asset is one of key businesses vested in the BDIC, a state-owned entity set up by the governor in 2012 to diversify the economy and create multiple income streams. By this agreement, the SPDC would sell gas to the BDIC with the option of upward review of the volume to accommodate additional power investments. The strategy aims to leverage the abundant natural gas to generate cheap, sustainable and environmentally- friendly electricity for use locally and into the national grid.
Bayelsa State already has the Gas delivery infrastructure that delivers gas to the Power plants at Imiringi and as such will only be expanded as the case may be. The state has gas reserves in excess of 18 trillion cubic feet. The interim gas purchase agreement is expected to remain operational until the parties negotiate and execute a Gas Sale and Aggregation Agreement (GSAA) under the Nigeria Gas Master Plan that will include the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN).
