Deepak Khilnani unveils resourceful gas storage solution

From L-R: John Woodruffe, Deputy Director of Department for International Trade with Deepak Khilnani, Chairman of Cummins Cogeneration Nigeria at the Energy Sustainability& Security Event, in Lagos recently.

Powergas, Nigeria’s largest Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) producer, has further expanded its market offering to include natural gas storage at power plants and industrial sites.

Powergas installs high-pressure gas tanks on site so that if there is a disruption in the pipeline gas supply, power plants can still operate on natural gas. This solution ensures continuous export of power and significant financial savings as producers will no longer need to operate diesel generators.

Speaking on the Nigerian power situation, Mr. Deepak Khilnani, CEO of Powergas Africa, stated

“Powergas continues to innovate in the challenging market environment. We see huge potential in gas storage for customers who are both connected to pipeline as a standby offering as well for stranded customers who can use CNG for continuous operations.”

“Even in developed markets such as the UK where the pipeline infrastructure was developed 100 years ago, there is demand for CNG – the pipeline can’t go everywhere! The ‘virtual pipeline’ is an essential bridge to grow the natural gas market in Nigeria,” said Mr. Deepak Khilnani.

Following the recent hike in diesel prices, many manufacturers and housing estates are further switching to natural gas, which is both significantly cheaper and cleaner than diesel.

Natural gas is approximately one third the price of diesel in Nigeria today and gas emissions are approximately just 10% of diesel emissions. It is truly a win-win solution.
Moreover, Nigeria has abundant natural gas resources – the ninth largest reserves in the world and the largest in Africa. Developing the infrastructure to transport the natural gas to power plants across the country will create high value employment, significantly improve electrification rates across Nigeria and reduce the cost of power.