Ekpo sets March 2024 target for completion of OB3 pipeline project deadline; months after initial December 2023 deadline.

Earlier today, Tuesday February 27, the Hon. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (GAS), Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo announced that the Obrikom / Oben (OB3) gas pipeline project would be completed in March 2024.

This announcement was made at the Opening Ceremony of the ongoing Nigeria International Energy Summit, N.I.E.S, at the Presidential Banquet Hall.

The OB3 is an ambitious 48″ line spanning 127 kilometers projected to deliver a staggering 2 billion standard cubic feet (scf) of natural gas per day, under joint venture construction by Enikkom and HDD Thailand.

This is an unexpected shift from the earlier announced deadline, set for December 2023; an assurance made by the Minister of State to the Senator Agom Jarigbe led Senate Committee on Gas in a meeting held in September 2023.

According to Ekpo, the OB3 project is a vital piece of gas infrastructure for the supply of feedstock to the AKK pipeline, which is among Nigeria and Africa’s  biggest gas transmission systems. The delay of the OB3 project, which is now in its eighth year had been occasioned by weather inconsistencies, the Covid19 pandemic and more recently, material and economic disruptions.

However, despite all these, the project is soon to be completed, assured the Minister of State. Expressing his thanks, Ekpo stated “I want to use this opportunity to appreciate the resilience of the NNPCL Group for their steadfastness and proactive approach to ensuring the timely completion of the OB3 pipeline project”.