The Chairman, Gas Monitoring Committee, Hon. Patrick Mgbebu, has disclosed that Imo State has the highest gas reserve in Africa with a proven gas of 206.53 trillion standard cubic feet as given by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, ranking 9th largest gas reserve in the world and first in the country.
Mgbebu made the disclosure in his Keynote address, during the remarked that the country has more gas than oil and Imo is a gas producer and has the capacity to host major gas investments in the federation”.
Mgbebu however assured the government and people of Imo State that “Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission will effectively discharge its constitutional responsibility to ensure that the government of the federation invests in the commercialisation of the abundant gas resources in Imo State. This will go a long way to reducing the incidences of gas flaring being practised currently by the oil companies”.
Declaring the seminar open, Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, who was represented by his deputy, Prof. Placid Njoku, stated that Imo can actually derive huge benefit from natural gas proliferation especially when adequately harnessed and sustained by the government, harping that the effective harnessing of the natural gas deposit can generate a lot of money, creates employment to citizens through industries and electricity generation, averring that natural gas is useful and is used by several people at both homes, offices, industries, farms and market environments.
The Governor maintained that “Imo State has a very large reserve of natural gas. What we are saying is that Imo State could actually derive a lot of benefit from the exploitation of the use of gas that can generate a lot of fund by ensuring that gas is used by many people”, just like some states have oil, Imo has crude oil that is already being well exploited and a lot of money is being made from the sector. We expect that natural gas can be an alternative way of making money for the state and federal government should ensure that there are a lot more industries in the state that can employ more people who are looking for job to grow the economy and develop our state. Nigeria is the 9th largest holder of gas in the world and we can actually make a lot of money by diversifying the way we use this gas”, wooing investors to feel free to come in and invest in Imo State to improve comfort living and security.
Lectures and comments on how to improve the natural gas sector were held by resource persons, technocrats and engineers who advised the federal government to put necessary measures in place to diversify the economy through natural gas to strengthen development.
Thus, participants at the seminar had urged the federal government to build more gas plants in Imo State or overhaul the gas sector to cushion the adverse effects of gas scarcity, flaring and hiking, regretting that those who produce the gas benefit less from it given to government sheer neglect and lack of vision and charismatic leadership.
Mgbebu however assured the government and people of Imo State that “Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission will effectively discharge its constitutional responsibility to ensure that the government of the federation invests in the commercialisation of the abundant gas resources in Imo State. This will go a long way to reducing the incidences of gas flaring being practised currently by the oil companies”.
