Chuka Eze: Oilserv is Committed to Building Gas Infrastructure to Power Nigerian Economy 

As Nigeria grapples with the challenges of accessing her abundant gas reserves, the Managing Director of Frazimex Engineering Limited, a subsidiary of Oilserv Group of Companies, Mr. Chuka Eze speaks on the progress of the company in the execution of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project and how to catalyse investments for harnessing the nation’s gas resources to feed the power sector and industries. Ejiofor Alike presents the excerpts:

N

igeria has gas reserves in the hundreds of trillions of cubic feet. Still, a shortage of gas to power the sector remains a major challenge due to difficulties in extracting and processing these resources.

What is Oilserv’s contribution in addressing this deficiency in the coming few years?

Alright, thank you very much. What needs to change in the gas industry to utilise the proven gas reserves that you have mentioned? According to data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigeria’s proven gas reserves stand at over 210 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). At the Nigeria International Energy Summit 2026, with the theme “Energy for Peace and Prosperity,” securing a shared future was the top priority.

Nigeria has gas in abundance, and what it takes to move it

It is a catalyst that will drive industrialisation – bringing power to people and making life easier. However, the gas that will drive this economic impact is not the gas that remains underground.

It is the gas that has been extracted, processed, and transported to its destination. The ‘Decade of Gas’ covers demand, supply, and the infrastructure required. And that’s where Oilserv plays a key role in engineering and building this gas infrastructure to bridge the gap between where the gas is sourced and where it is needed.

So, we have had a lot of policies in place – very good policies in place.

It requires significant action right now. Action from the upstream, because the upstream has to invest in extracting this gas that is under the ground.

The transportation system is already there. We have credible EPC service contractors who will build the required gas infrastructure. And we have the market.

We have a growing population and increasing demand. There is a market, and the capacity and capability to design and install this infrastructure exist. We have the gas.

A weekly decision must be made on how to secure funding and bring this project to life.

Regarding the AKK project, what is the percentage of completion?

You may be aware that, in December last year, the main pipeline welding was completed. As I mentioned in a session, the gas from the OB3 project will be routed to the AKK.

So, the pipeline of AKK, the main welding line, has been completed. What remains is the back-end work.

Gas pricing remains a major issue in the gas space, and this has discouraged investments despite the willing buyer, willing seller policy. What can you say on issues around pricing?

Yes, it is a key factor because every investor wants to know their return on investment and whether they are making money from developing these infrastructure projects or exploring these opportunities.

For me, it is a key element being managed internally by the authorities responsible for gas pricing. During the Gas Master Plan session, it was noted that work is underway, and we expect to see a new pricing regime in the coming weeks.

Having said that, can you take us through some of your major interventions within the domestic gas sector?

Oilserv is a group of companies strategically positioned to provide Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) services in the oil and gas industry.

As a company, we play a major role in the country’s critical gas pipelines and projects. Notably, we have mentioned the OB3. OB3 is the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben gas pipeline, 48 inches in diameter and 127 km long.

It also includes a gas treatment plant with a capacity of 2 billion scf (standard cubic feet) per day. It has four trains. Each train processes 500 million scf per day.

Oilserv has been instrumental in designing the facility and the pipeline. They have built it, and the section constructed by Oilserv has been commissioned. It is currently flowing 300 million scf of gas in the pipeline.

As an industry, we provide engineering, procurement, and construction services for major critical gas pipelines in Nigeria. In the recent gas master plan, several projects are listed.

Oilserv has been instrumental in those projects. Projects which included the AKK pipeline, the Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3), Assa North-Ohaji South (ANOH) gas project, and, as we speak, there are two Assa North-Ohaji South (ANOH) gas projects. There is one for NNPC that has a manifold and a 36-inch pipeline, 23 kilometres long, feeding into the Construction Tracking Management System (CTMS).

That line has a manifold designed to receive gas from Renaissance (formerly SPDC) and Seplat. It is one of the critical gas infrastructure projects commissioned by the President in May last year. Right now, it is flowing gas to Seplat.

AKK is a mega project. How do you manage the detailed engineering designs that reduce construction risks?

Your question centers on the detailed engineering for AKK segment 1. That segment comprises the main pipeline, which is 40 inches in diameter and 304 kilometres long. It has 12 block gas stations. It has one intermediate biking station.

It has two terminal gas stations – one at Ajaokuta and another at Abuja. It has a capacity to handle 700 million scf of gas. Nigerians completed the detailed engineering, and it has been delivered.

That is one of the testaments to Nigeria’s talent. We have the talent to execute these credible and critical projects in Nigeria. Frazimex also did this project.

In doing so, we have in-house capacity to deliver engineering for any project in this space, whether facilities or pipeline. We have the capacity in Nigeria. All we need is the opportunity and the projects.

We have Nigerians who are credible, experienced, and capable of delivering these projects. All, we have about 200 disciplinary engineers on the AKK project, delivering detailed engineering that is complete and being constructed. The Assa North we talked about – the engineering was done by Nigeria, by Frazimex, and it has been commissioned and constructed.

We are doing a lot in that space. Currently, at Frazimex, we have been providing engineering services to NLNG, Seplat, and Aradel for the past four years.

So, do we have the capacity and capability in Nigeria? Yes. Are we able, as a nation, to undertake the engineering of these critical projects in Nigeria? The answer is emphatically yes.

What is lacking? What is lacking is that we should do more of them to build in-country capacity. Currently, at Oilserv, we have been running a programme for the past three years. Every year, we engage 20 fresh graduates and enrol them in a two-year programme.

Over the past two years, we have taken them around the business and projects and provided on-the-ground training to build capacity in Nigeria. It is a commitment that Oilserv, as a group and as a business, is intentionally making. We started with 20, the first set.

The second set, we had another 20. The 2026 set finished their session last Friday and have started now. Next year, we will engage another set of 20.

So, when you ask, “What are we doing?” We believe that Nigerians – even Africans- should be trained and should be able to have the capacity to handle some of these critical projects and export them.

How did you manage your relationships with the communities?

One strategy is to maintain a strong relationship with the community. We treat the community not just to fulfill the Freedom to Operate (FTO) permit, but also to integrate them into our projects.

We are allowing them to learn. In the AKK project, we have over 100 communities cutting across our section. We intentionally brought them into the project to train them.

We trained them in automated welding, and they are becoming part of it. We also offered them the opportunity to take on and provide services, which helped bring them into the team and gave them a sense of belonging. They are stakeholders in the project’s development, and by working collaboratively, we can deliver results.

Across all the projects, currently, we are doing a pipeline project for Ubeta-  for Total Energy, another critical national project that will supply about 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day from Ubeta to NLNG.

We are currently doing that, and the construction is expected to be completed between June and July. Again, the communities are directly involved in the project’s execution, either as service providers or suppliers. And in doing so, it helps build stakeholder engagement, making them realise they are integral to delivering this national project.

However, one thing is to consciously ensure they realise that they have value to bring to the table, and you have to make an intentional decision – a deliberate decision to train them and give them an opportunity.

What do you think of the issue of financing gas projects?

Financing and funding are critical factors to any project. At Oilserv, we recognize that some operators or developers may be struggling with funding. So, we have graduated our business from the typical Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation, and Commission (EPCIC) model to a model where we can offer the clients other solutions, like EPCIC plus F (funding), or other models like build, operate, and transfer (BOT)

So, in that way, you can help with the financial funding for that project. That’s an option we can offer to the respective operator or developer, but it must be discussed on a case-by-case basis with that developer or client. But funding, wherever it comes from, is critical to delivering a project successfully and on time.