The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, has issued a 25-year gas distribution licence to 10 companies for the establishment, construction and operation of gas distribution networks.
The licenses issued, aimed at promoting domestic gas utilisation, cover franchise areas in Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, and Benin City.
It is to ensure that natural gas reaches the last mile in homes and industries across clusters in the southwestern and southern regions of the country.
At the award ceremony on Tuesday in Abuja, the Authority Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, Ahmed Farouk, announced that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Shell, Nipco, Central Horizon Gas Company, Falcon, and Axxela were granted the licences.
He added that the areas awarded were those already connected to the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System.
Out of 30 applications received, 20 were screened out, leaving the top 10 recipients to spearhead the first phase of such an initiative aimed at the country’s gas expansion initiative.
