The Managing Director of ANOH Gas Processing Company (AGPC) Limited, Engr. Effiong Okon has said that achieving first gas last month has proven that Nigeria can deliver bankable and technically complex gas projects when the right commercial, regulatory, and institutional frameworks are in place.
On 16 January, ANOH Gas processing plant in Assa, Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State, which has a capacity of 300 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscfd), achieved its first gas, and is currently delivering 40–52 MMscfd of gas to the Indorama Petrochemical plant via a newly completed 11km pipeline.
At the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ (Lagos section) Energy Week, where he featured as a panelist, Okon said that the first gas feat by ANOH is a powerful signal that Nigeria is entering a new phase of gas sector maturity.
‘What this project demonstrates very clearly is that, when the right commercial structures, partnerships, and regulatory alignment are in place, large-scale gas developments can transition efficiently from concept to operation’, he explained.
He further said that scaling up gas production is still a journey, adding: ‘Gas production at scale is a function of many variables; it is really a journey from molecules to electrons. To scale gas, you need off takers at scale, and that in turn is driven by government policies, demand, economics and fiscal terms, gas pricing, as well as adequate processing, transportation, and distribution infrastructure.
‘Our experience with ANOH shows that, while the opportunities to scale gas production are massive, given Nigeria’s huge gas reserve base and the global acceptance of gas as a destination fuel with lower carbon intensity than coal, crude oil, and biomass, the challenges are also enormous’.
On the positive side, Okon said: ‘We are already seeing a significant increase in gas development projects around Imo State, particularly for power generation, gas-based industries, agro-processing, and industrial parks. The Imo State Government, under the leadership of His Excellency Governor Hope Uzodimma, has been extremely supportive and has helped project the state to the global investment community, notably through last year’s economic summit and the Orashi Energy Free Trade Zone’.
The AGPC helmsman continued: “There have also been major unlocks at the national level. These include infrastructure expansion by NGIC through projects such as AKK and OB3, efforts by NGML, Presidential Executive Orders, and the attractive fiscal terms for midstream gas under the PIA. In addition, the work done by McKinsey and the Decade of Gas team has helped sharpen focus on key sector issues. All of this is happening against the backdrop of a growing population and increasing energy demand’.
From a funding perspective, the ANOH project has clearly demonstrated investor confidence, Okon said, explaining: “Our shareholders, NNPC Limited and Seplat Energy Plc successfully raised US$420 million in equity, US$40 million shareholders loan, US$320 million in debt from a consortium of seven banks and US$30 million prepayment by condensate offtaker. This clearly shows that investors are interested in well-governed gas projects in Nigeria and are willing to back them.
‘Technically, ANOH now delivers between 40 and 80 MMscfd of processed gas to Indorama, with condensate production of about 2.0 to 6 Kbopd and we are on track to ramp up to the full 300 MMscfd nameplate design capacity for processing wet gas. This demonstrates that Nigeria can deliver technically complex, world-class midstream gas assets.
‘From a regulatory standpoint, the landmark approval by the NMDPRA enabled smooth commissioning and commencement of gas flow on 16 January 2026. This is clear evidence that reforms in permitting and midstream regulation are beginning to work. In terms of infrastructure momentum, despite earlier delays, construction on the critical OB3 pipeline has resumed, reinforcing long-term domestic gas evacuation capacity and signaling that key bottlenecks are being addressed.
‘However, there have also been significant challenges. Six years after Final Investment Decision, and after navigating numerous obstacles, we brought the project to the finish line in late October last year. Unfortunately, the export route was not ready, as OB3 was delayed to the second quarter of 2026. The interim alternative arrangement we developed to supply gas to Nigeria LNG Limited became stuck in commercial issues between an operator and NLNG, despite the substantial capital we had already spent modifying infrastructure to enable gas delivery through that route.
‘You can imagine what such delays mean for debt providers, whose principal repayments were predicated on revenue from product sales, especially after three to four years of servicing interest on the debt without production or revenue’.
Large, integrated midstream projects like ANOH inherently face multidimensional challenges. Projects all over the world are exposed to technical, economic, commercial, organisational, and political risks. Okon said that, from his personal experience working on projects in Europe, the Middle East, and the United States, many of the technical challenges are similar.
He further said: ‘What we contend with locally, however, are additional non-technical risks (above ground risks) that are not as prevalent elsewhere.
‘For the ANOH project, I would say the most significant challenges were technical. Developing two 150 MMscfd processing trains, LPG recovery units, condensate stabilisation systems, and a dedicated 16MW power plant required a very high level of engineering coordination and execution precision.
‘Infrastructure dependency was another major challenge. The OB3 pipeline, which was expected to be our primary domestic gas evacuation route, remained incomplete due to technical challenges. As a result, ANOH initially had to rely on alternative offtake routes such as Indorama and future NLNG arrangements. This required continuous commercial and logistical restructuring to secure viable early gas offtake channels and reinforced the need for the gas value chain to work end-to-end, from drilling to billing, with close collaboration between industry and government’.
Okon said that there are also organisational challenges. AGPC was incorporated in 2017, with limited activity until FID in 2019. ‘We were essentially a new company with no project delivery track record, a mix of secondees from shareholder companies and new hires, varying quality of contractors, no established project delivery standards, and a new organisational culture to build on.
‘Our contracting strategy also added complexity. We adopted a split-form contracting model, separating engineering and procurement from construction, with seven distinct packages rather than a traditional EPC structure. This required management by a large and highly coordinated project management team’, he stated.
Other challenges included leadership transitions, the impact of COVID-19, severe foreign exchange volatility, from about N200 to nearly N2,000 to the United States dollar, sharp increases in Naira interest rates from single digits to around 28%, geotechnical survey deficiencies, insolvency of a major construction contractor, weaknesses among some local engineering contractors, design and construction error, delays to the export route, and interface management challenges between key equipment suppliers and designers.
Regulatory and multi-stakeholder coordination was also critical. Aligning upstream operations in OML 53 and OML 21, midstream processing at AGPC, downstream off-takers, and regulators required precise timing and coordination. Regulatory approvals, particularly from NUPRC, had to be synchronised with wells, pipelines, and processing facilities coming on stream.
From a commercial standpoint, negotiating both firm and interruptible gas sales agreements with multiple off takers required flexible yet bankable structures to ensure early cash-flow stability.
He further said that Ttechnical challenges inevitably led to schedule delays and cost overruns, which then impacted commercial outcomes and financing. However, once those technical challenges are overcome, projects transition into cash-generating assets. Although ANOH was technically ready from November 2025, we lacked an export route at the time. Once Indorama completed its pipeline connection to the ANOH gas plant, we began delivering on-spec gas at the Daily Contract Quantity to the Indorama Petrochemical Plant in Onne.
Despite all these challenges, ANOH was delivered without a single Lost Time Incident across 17.5 million man-hours, which is a testament to disciplined project governance and a strong safety culture.
He said that the decade of gas initiative has created a more supportive ecosystem for gas development in Nigeria. Although ANOH pre-dated the decade of gas, Okon said that the challenges ‘we faced and the lessons learned from the project helped shape many of the initiative’s focus areas, such as supply, commercial principles, decarbonization, legacy arrears owed to gas producers, demand creation, and infrastructure development. Other projects have clearly benefited, as seen in the recent 2025 Final Investment Decisions.
‘There is now clearer national signaling that gas is the cornerstone of Nigeria’s industrialisation strategy, which has improved regulatory responsiveness and strengthened investor confidence. Commercial frameworks have also improved, with stronger emphasis on gas-based industrialisation, domestic gas pricing reforms, and accelerated gas infrastructure development, including OB3. These priorities align closely with ANOH’s role as a 4.6 Tcf resource unlocker across OML 53 and OML 21’.
The decade of gas, he said, has also reinforced Nigeria’s cleaner energy objectives by intensifying commitments to flaring reduction and LPG adoption. ANOH supports these goals directly through LPG production and by processing gas that would otherwise have been flared from the Ohaji field.
He added that the initiative has strengthened midstream investment appetite by encouraging partnerships such as the AGPC joint venture, which blends private-sector efficiency with national strategic alignment.
