Ogbugo Ukoha, Executive Director, Distribution System, Facility and Retailing Infrastructure, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, has said that Imo State had the largest Gas reserve in the country.
He disclosed this while speaking to Journalists at a stakeholders engagement meeting on Gas Utilisation for the South-East zone in Enugu.
Ukoha further urged industry operators and businesses to take advantage of the evolving business opportunities in the gas value chain.
He said the objective of the engagement meeting was to enlighten the end user category to “urgently obtain the requisite petroleum storage license and to engender the transition from white products to gas at the last mile.”
The executive director said the authority’s regulations defined the licensing regimes, procedures and standards for handling petroleum products which when breached lose increased risks.
“In addition, gas as the transition fuel represents a cleaner and cost-effective energy source.
“We encourage operators and businesses to take advantage of the evolving opportunities in the gas value chain for sustainable business growth by positioning their energy needs to embrace gas derivatives,” he said.
Ukoha enjoined all petroleum handlers to fully comply with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act and NMDPRA regulations to avoid strong regulatory enforcement.
According to him, the authority’s statutory mandate “remains to enable industry growth.”
In his address of welcome, the Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed said there was need for large consumers of petroleum products to operate within the regulatory space.
The CEO, whose speech was read by Ogbugo Ukoha, said this was necessary for the growth of the sector.
