How Gas Flared In Bayelsa ‘ll Become Power Source For Economic Boom, Says Trinidad Envoy

A partnership that will lead to economic boom through the conversion of flared gas to a reliable energy source to light up the Bayelsa Industrial Park has taken off.

This assurance came after a deal to that effect was struck between the Bayelsa State government and officials of Trinidad and Tobago. Both parties agreed on this on Monday when the Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner in Nigeria, Ambassador Wendell De Leandro, led a delegation to  Government House, Yenagoa.

Leandro said his country had the expertise to convert gas flared at oil production facilities to energy that would power the state’s industrial park and noted that when operational, the industrial estate would be powered to produce feed stock, urea and other byproducts, which would in turn create thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

The high commissioner, who revealed that his country had stopped gas flaring years ago, insisted  that it can be stopped and put to profitable use instead of allowing it to waste and cause environmental hazards.

He said that the bilateral agreement and partnership would be extended to development of the seaport at Agge in Ekeremor Local Government Area to further open up the state.

Responding, the Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri thanked the Trinidad and Tobago envoy for initiating the partnership, saying that it touched vital aspects of the state government’s investment drive.

The governor said the state was ready for the partnership because the industrial park project had been on the drawing board for some years and expressed the optimism that it would come to fruition this time.

He particularly noted that the Agge seaport project was very important to the industrial development of the state and promised that the government would provide land and other facilities to ensure the success of the partnership.

He said: “My team will be ready to meet with your team so that we can expedite action on this new relationship. The Eco-Industrial Park project has been there and we have not been able to bring it to fruition. I believe that it will be expanded beyond what we have seen and this partnership will change the story of Bayelsa.

“Our people are having strange diseases as a result of gas flaring. According to the report of an oil and environmental commission empaneled by my predecessor, laboratory tests established that the oil and gas industry in the state has led to the death of a lot of people. The standards of operation in the Netherlands, in the United Kingdom and in other countries are different from what is obtainable in Nigeria.