Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo has urged the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline contractors to complete the project by July/August 2024.

The Minister expressed concerns over the slow pace of work during a tour of the construction site on Thursday, October 12, and demanded from Oilserve Limited, the contractor handling segment one of the project, when exactly the project would be completed.

“Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, has charged contractors handling the 614-kilometer Ajaokuta, Kaduna, Kano (AKK) gas pipelines project not to default on the promised July/August 2024 completion deadline,” a statement from the Minister’s office read.

The AKK pipeline is a critical project for Nigeria’s gas sector, and its completion will help to boost power generation and industrial development in the country. The pipeline will also help to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on imported gas.

The Minister’s tour was part of a visit by key figures from the Nigerian oil and gas sector to the Pai River Crossing, a critical phase of the AKK pipeline project.

The delegation included Olalekan Ogunleye, EVP Gas, Power & New Energy, representing Mele Kyari, the NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

The Pai River Crossing is a complex engineering project that involves the installation of a 1.1-kilometer pipeline across the Pai River. The pipeline is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.