Edo State is fast becoming West Africa’s latest resort for gas supplies in the wake of growing private investments in the state’s energy sector, with the Republic of Benin finalizing deals to source for gas for its power projects from the Duport Energy Park in Egbokor, Orhionmwon Local Government Area of the State.
The government of Benin Republic sent a delegation led by its Special Adviser on Energy, Edouard Dahome, who arrived at Duport Midstream Energy Park, alongside representatives of its Nigerian partners, Genesis Energy Group and Kalaora Gas Marketing Company.
Speaking on the purpose of the visit, Dahome said the team was on an on-site assessment of the facility, which became important to finalize the sourcing and negotiations for gas needed to power the energy sector of Benin Republic.
He said, “We have been discussing with Genesis for some time and we signed the contract last year. Genesis introduced Kalaora to us. We know we need to meet with Duport, the producer of the gas. The purpose of this trip is to understand who they are; what is the situation today; what are the prospects; the potential and then finalize our discussion.”
He added that Benin Republic’s interest in acquiring gas is to further its energy plans and provide power to its citizens.
According to him, “A few years ago, we decided that we needed to change the situation whereby all the energy which we consumed was coming from abroad – either Nigeria or Ghana. We couldn’t accept the situation any longer. So we decided to be in the position to generate the energy we use.
“We built the first plant which has started generating today and we are talking about the need for gas for this plant. It is about 40MW. And there are other projects and our objective is to become self-sufficient in terms of energy generation.”
On his part, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Duport Midstream Company Limited, Dr. Akintoye Akindele, said the company has requisite capacity to meet the gas needs of Benin Republic, noting that it can supply gas to the country for another 100 years going by the gas deposits in Edo State.
