Oredola Adeola

The Kwale Gas Gathering (KGG) hub,located in Kwale, Delta State, earned Nigeria the Regional Gas Award for Africa by the International Gas Union (IGU) at the World Gas Congress (WGC) held in Beijing, China, from 19 to 23 May 2025.

The 29th World Gas Conference (WGC2025) in China was the premier gathering of the global gas and energy industry, hosted by the International Gas Union (lGU). IGU represents over 90% of the global natural gas production and consumption market.

The technical paper describing the KGG project, which offers a commercial solution for eliminating flare gas at oil production hubs in the OML 56 cluster area of Delta State, kept the Nigerian flag flying on the awards podium at the global arena, where an eminent Nigerian delegation mounted a strong presence.

Chief Executive Officer of Xenergi Limited, a Nigerian gas-processing company, Mr Emeka Ene, received the award on behalf of the team that developed the technical submission, comprising Emeka Ene, Debo Fagbami, Kingsley Idedevbo, James Ogunleye, and Sahhed Hammed.

It was a big moment for the Nigerian delegation, which was led to the event by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Hon Ekperikpe Ekpo, the Executive Vice President, Gas, Power & New Energy, NNPC Ltd, Mr. Olalekan Ogunleye, the Authority Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, the Director of the Decade of Gas (DOS) office, Mr Ed Ubong, and the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) Chairman, Mr Aka Nwokedi.

Upon receiving the award, Mr Ene recognized and commended the multidisciplinary technical team that delivered the project and appreciated the Nigerian government and its agencies in the petroleum industry for providing the enabling environment for Indigenous companies to demonstrate their various capabilities in resolving the petroleum industry’s operating challenges.

He commended  President Tinubu for giving the Decade of Gas programme a substantial boost.

He also commended the ministers of petroleum resources, the NNPC, industry regulators, the Office of the Decade of Gas, the management and staff of Xenergi Limited, and the Nigerian petroleum industry stakeholders on the recognition accorded to the country by the IGU.

The KGG Facility was designed to handle stranded gas resources in Nigeria’s OML 56 operating cluster by providing an open-access processing opportunity for independent operators in the area to monetize natural gas from their fields through the KGGs quick-to-market gas gathering, compression, injection, and metering infrastructure.

It has a processing capacity of 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscf/d), contributes to the country’s domestic gas supply, drives economic growth, eliminates flares at oil production sites, boosts operating income for players, and addresses environmental pollution.

The KGG hub has been tied into the 48-inch OB-3 gas trunk line owned and operated by the Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company (NGIC) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

The project has been described as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s Decade of Gas initiative and a significant contribution to increasing the incremental gas volumes available for the domestic gas market.