Gastrain Project

Izombe Gas Processing Company Limited

The development of the Izombe Integrated Gas Processing Project was in response to the Federal Government of Nigeria directive that the oil and gas producing companies in the country should stop routine flaring by the end of year 2008. Located in the hinterlands, about 150 kilometres north of Port Harcourt, the project offers a total gas utilization strategy for stranded gas that had been flared in the area from ChevronTexaco’s OML 53 and Addax’s OML 124, Owel-linkso Group in promoting the project carried out a study to ascertain the feasibility of a gas utilisation project in the country to aid in the elimination

The study by Owel-linkso Group shows that the major producing companies have the significant associated gas volumes for a major projects whereas the other companies with smaller gas volumes are at clear disadvantage as projects of the right size are difficult to put in place. Amongst such small companies are Addax Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Ltd and Pan Ocean Oil Company whose gas volumes are not enough to feed major gas utilization projects and will be forced to construct gas gathering facilities at high cost and deliver such gas to nearby major producers at non-economic prices or shut down the oil production facilities when the deadline comes.

Adopting the nodal gas development strategy, Owel-Linkso set out to create a gas processing centre able to take gas not just from Addax and ChevronTexaco but also from other producers in the general vicinity.

The objective is to process such associated gas for the extraction of Liquefied petroleum gases and condensates using an LPG extraction plant. Izombe Gas Company, an initiative of the Owel-Linkso Group, is designed to provide total solutions to gas flare involve in the gathering and processing associated gas currently being flared at both Addax and Chevron-Texaco operated OML 124 and 53 fields respectively into Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), natural gasoline, while the lean gas will provide feed fuel for the planned power plant located at Egbema.

Owel-Linkso Group undertook the project on a sole risk basis (via an MOU with Addax) giving Addax an option to participate.

The plant, estimated to cost about $135 million is located at Izombe some 30 kilometres from Owerri, is designed to produce 200 metric tonnes of LPG; and about 1000 barrels of condensate from a feed gas of about 40 million standards cubic feet per day. Owel-Linkso is positioning Izombe Gas Processing Company to be a major inland gas processing hub for most stranded gas within that axis.

As part of the strategy to deliver the project, Owel-Linkso Group took the option and acquired 2 gas processing plants in the US; the Chevron NGL plant in Gaviota Santa Barbra County and the Duke energy Plant in Haynesville in order to fast track the implementation.

To re-engineer the plant, Owel-Linkso engaged seasoned and reputable engineering companies in Europe and America: The feasibility study was carried out by Costain Oil, Gas and Process Limited of Manchester, UK. The Pre-FEED and the dismantling of the Gaviota and Haynesville plants was done by Optimised Process Design (OPD) of US; while the FEED was carried out by Petrofac of UK. The plant is presently in Houston undergoing engineering re-certification before being relocated to Nigeria.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has granted an approval via the license from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and obtained the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval from the Federal Ministry of Environment (FME).

As part of the implementation of the Izombe integrated Project an LPG coastal depot situated in Port Harcourt have been incorporated to enhance the evacuation of the anticipated excess propane and Butane.