Powergas Africa Ltd: Best Natural Gas Value Creation Africa 2019
Taking the steps towards sustainability and making the switch from oil (Liquid Fuels – Diesel & Low-Pour Fuel Oil, LPFO) to Natural Gas is not an overnight process, but Nigerian Powergas Africa has spent the past 20 years working to change mindsets and develop the country’s abundant reserves of clean energy. Nigeria ranks amongst the top 10 countries, with rich natural gas reserves, and Powergas has made immense investments in developing the Clean Energy Infrastructure particularly in “Virtual Gas Pipeline” for Industrial Processes & Power Generation, while also contributing towards flare-gas elimination. Challenges such as unreliable energy grids and limited gas pipeline infrastructure led Powergas to pioneer the “Gas on Wheel” Model, supplying Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) solutions to Commercial & Industrial Clients. Lean Natural Gas is firstly treated for impurities, and then compressed into high-pressure gas Tankers (skids) for delivery to power generation companies, heavy industries, commercial complexes, and residential estates. With this unique “gas-on-wheels” supply-chain model, Powergas is expanding its service across the Nigerian landscape, and hopefully soon into other African geographies. The first Powergas plant was inaugurated in 2009 and with a fifth facility under construction — slated to be the biggest in the continent and push the company’s daily production capacity to over a million standard cubic metres. The company supports the nation’s economic recovery through the creation of jobs, the provision of clean energy solutions based on domestically available Natural Gas (contrib-uting to import substitution & saving in foreign exchange reserves), and the responsible management of resources. Natural Gas based Clean Energy Solutions is the fundamental ethos of the company’s DNA, and the Powergas management team possesses extensive expert knowledge of the local market & business environment. The company drives local capacity building through constant training & technology transfer. With Nigerians making up to 90 percent of the workforce, including key executive positions in finance, technology and environmental social governance (ESG), technology transfer is retained locally. Over the years, Powergas has main-tained a steady track record of recruiting, retaining, and developing top local talent, and ensuring that the local communities are part of the company’s success. Based on the foregoing, the CFI.co judging panel declares Powergas Africa as the winner of the 2019 Best Natural Gas Value Creation (Africa) award.
