AKK opens first valve in Abuja July
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) yesterday expressed its preparedness to supply the Portland Gas Limited Mini LNG/LCNG Station in Gwagwalada, Abuja from the Ajaokuta Kaduna Kano (AKK) Pipeline.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) yesterday expressed its preparedness to supply the Portland Gas Limited Mini LNG/LCNG Station in Gwagwalada, Abuja from the Ajaokuta Kaduna Kano (AKK) Pipeline.
The state-owned oil and gas firm disclosed that the first valve of the AKK project will open in Gwagwalada in July 2026.
Speaking at the Stakeholders’ Workshop in Emerging Investment Opportunities in the Portland Gas Limited Mini LNG/LCNG Station in Gwagwalada, NNPCL, Executive Vice President for Power Gas and New Energy, Mr. Olalekan Ogunleye, said the station will not simply release gas, it will release productivity, industrial growth, and economic renewal.
NNPCL Manager Business Development, Mr. Kachalla Suleiman, who represented him said, “The countdown to July 2026 has begun. When the first valve opens in Gwagwalada, it will not simply release gas, it will release productivity, industrial growth, and economic renewal.
“To Portland Gas: Your facility is a strategic pioneer along the AKK corridor. NNPC stands ready to fuel your ambition.”
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The station is scheduled for completion in the next 12 to 16 months.
The theme of the workshop was: “Powering the Future-Leveraging CNG Infrastructure to Drive Nigeria’s Energy Transition and Sustainable Growth.”
He added that the Ajaokuta-Gwagwalada segment of the AKK is projected to be commissioned, with first gas flowing by July 2026, linking northern industrial zones to Nigeria’s gas fields, and structurally addressing national energy deficits.
He said the AKK unlocks; Northern industrial demand, competitive power generation, manufacturing growth, Auto-CNG and Mini-LNG expansion, and employment across the value chain.
According to him, the station is being sited in Gwagwalada because it sits at a strategic transport intersection linking Kogi and key northern hubs.
Olalekan said it has become a logistics and commercial center with demand from transport and haulage fleets, manufacturing SMEs, Real Estate energy demand, Agro-processing clusters, among others.
The Mini-LNG/L-CNG station, according to him, will fuel vehicles, power industry, reduce diesel dependence, and strengthen energy resilience.
The Executive Vice President said positioned at the AKK Abuja take-off node, the project aligns strongly with market demand and investor appetite.
He said the Mini-LNG infrastructure is a modular, scalable-deployable and expandable in phases as demand grows. This, said Olalekan, reduces capital risk and supports flexible returns.
In his remarks, the Portland Gas Limited Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Folajimi Mohammed said the opportunities in the station are not only profitable but pivotal to Nigeria’s economic transformation.
He said the Portland Gas Limited’s commitment is clearly to make clean, reliable and sustainable solution a reality.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Chairman Board of Directors, Mr. Olaniyi Yusuf said the workshop is part of the institutional architecture required to move Nigeria from concept to execution, and from planning to delivery.
Seeking execution of the project, he said the “The opportunity before us is clear. Our reserves exist. The reform momentum exists. The capital appetite also exists. What remains is disciplined execution.
“With disciplined execution, we can move decisively from pilots to productivity, from infrastructure to competitiveness, and from potential to performance.”
