By Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
Emeka Okwuosa, the Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of Oliserv Limited, the company in charge of executing the Ajeokuta-Kano-Kaduna (AKK) gas pipeline project, has said that the project remains on course to be completed before the end of 2023 regardless of the challenges it is facing due to the unavailability of funding from China.
He stated that the AKK project is very vital because for Nigeria to develop, it needs energy, and gas is the most abundant source of energy in the country, considering the fact that Nigeria has a lot of gas reserves.
Okwuosa also mentioned that gas is meaningless without the capacity to produce and transport it, adding further that transportation is the most important aspect of the business because much of the gas resources cannot be stored.
While speaking, he also said that the execution of the AKK project has gone far and will be finished and delivered to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited before 2023 runs out.
According to him, China was approached for funding and to secure a loan but, although all requirements expected fromNNPC Limited on behalf of the Federal Government were met, nothing has come from China.
The Oilserv Boss explained that despite not getting funds from China, NNPC Limited is making sure that the issue of funding does not stand in the way of the project’s completion.
In his own words, “NNPCL has been funding the project from the beginning so as to move aside the negative impact of the unavailability of funding from China.”