The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has said the $2.8bn Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano gas pipeline project being constructed by Oilserve Limited will be inaugurated next month.

Executive Vice President, Upstream, NNPC Limited, Oritsemiyiwa Eyesan revealed this at the ongoing 41st Nigeria Association of Petroleum Explorationists 2023 expo in Lagos on Tuesday.

In her address at the Management Session themed ‘Energy Infrastructure Development, Financing & Monetisation Strategies in Nigeria: Reducing the Risks of Entry’, Eyesan said the commitment to delivering the project in December was a testament to the company’s commitment to Nigeria’s Gas Master Plan.

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“In the coming months, you are going to be seeing a great difference in the way we operate because NNPC is poised to drive in more investments into the oil and gas sector. One of such huge investments is the AKK gas pipeline that will be commissioned this December,” she said.

The development comes on the heels of the promise by the Minister of State, Gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo, at the Pai River crossing session in Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in October.

He said that the 614km project would be delivered by July next year.

The AKK pipeline is a 614km-long pipeline being developed by the NNPCL to transport natural gas from southern Nigeria to central Nigeria.

“Although investors were willing to invest in the project, however, they wanted an investment that would yield returns immediately,” Ekpo said, adding that insecurity was also one of the reasons for the project delay.

She advised that apart from addressing financing and security challenges in the country, the Federal Government needed to stabilise the naira.

The minister also stressed the need for the government to reduce contract circle, and attract modern technology managers into the sector to drive investments.