By Abdullahi M. Gulloma
Abuja
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the purchase of three 150 MVA transformers to be installed at power sub-stations at Shiroro, Niger state; Oshogbo, Osun state, and Kumbotso, Kano state as requested by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, who disclosed this at the end the Council meeting in Abuja, said the purpose was to continue to reinforce, expand and maintain the existing transmission capacity to guarantee stable power supply in all parts of the country.
Similarly, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, said the council has also approved the resuscitation of the moribund National Council on Hydrocarbon, an ombudsman council that meets once a year in an extraordinary time to review policies in the sector.
“The National Council on Hydrocarbon is a gathering of people from business, oil sector, oil communities and ministries that are directly or indirectly affected by the policies we roll out in the ministry.
“The council had been in existence but in the last couple of years, disappeared into oblivion and today the council approved for us to resuscitate it.
“The criticality is that as we continue the dialogue we have been having with militants, creating such a forum enables anybody who has an interest in the area, to converge and develop the thinking process that will guide policies in this sector,” he said.
He said the Federal Executive Council was notified of things that happened at OPEC meetings in Vienna and efforts being made to modulate oil prices, among other things.
He said the council has also approved the hosting of international flare reduction convergence meeting in Nigeria on November 30 and December 1, 2016.
“We will use that as a chance to roll out efforts by the ministry to addressing the flare. You are aware Nigeria is next to Russia in terms of the highest flaring nation. Even though we have progressed positively to reduce 70 per cent of the flare, but the 30 per cent we still flare, is about 10 per cent of the world’s flare so is a huge amount of gas.
“Obviously, we are doing a lot in terms of gas policies which will embody the flare initiatives but we have signed onto the 2030 World Bank/UN-led efforts made in eliminating flare completely by 2030. The memo was to intimate the council that we have been asked to host the flare conference and council approved the motion to host that,” he said.