Vandalisation of TotalEnergies pipeline forces shutdown of 504mw Alaoji power plant
By Fredrick Wright
TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited has shut down the 504 mega watts (mw) Alaoji power plant.
The company had declared force majeure event resulting from its NOPL Line vandalization at KP41 on January 7, 2022.
According to TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited in a letter to the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC), “NOPL pipeline was vandalized on 7th January 2022 at KP41 Alaoma Etche Cluster.
Head, Communication & Public Relations, NDPHC, Emmanuel Ojor, explained further that the Line Block Valve at KP38 was closed to isolate the sabotage point and depressurization of the line, this will affect gas supply to Alaoji (Power Plant) until further notice.
As a result of this development, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited stated that, “Gas supply to Alaoji Power Plant was suspended due to this unfortunate event. Preliminary investigation to determine the extent of the damage is ongoing, and repair works shall commence as soon as feasible.”
Ojor said NDPHC regrets to announce the shutdown of 504MW Alaoji Power Plant on January 7, 2022.
Recall that Omotosho NIPP was shut down last month when Nigeria Gas Company (NGC) due to system wide curtailment of all gas shippers (gas producers/off takers) by Nigeria Gas Company (NGC) “to forestall the imminent collapse of the gas grid.” NGC said at the time that the Trans-Forcardos Pipeline (TFP), belonging to NGC was breached on December 17, 2021.
That breach led to the deferment of about 250MMscfd of gas from the Pipeline Network, a situation that brought the Network Pressure to abysmal levels, thereby triggering an emergency.
The curtailment impacted operations of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Limited negatively with Omotosho NIPP being shut down and gas supply to GEREGU NIPP and Ihovbor NIPP also limited thus leading to part load or low generation from these available power plants.
NDPHC however assures customers that Alaoji Power Plant and others will resume power generation as soon as gas supply is restored.
