Cross River to set up oil and gas company – Ayade

Cross River State governor-elect, Ben Ayade, has said that his government intends to set up an oil and gas company (PETROCROSS) whose business is to do oil and gas business just like PETRO BRAS of Brazil.

Ayade disclosed this at the presidential lodge on Tuesday in Calabar, the state capital, while addressing journalists after he emerged as the governor-elect.

Cross River State is a gas belt state, but unfortunately because of the paucity of funds for the oil and gas exploration, our reserves have remained totally untapped and unexploited, Ayade said, saying “we have a proven reserve of over 1. 6 million standard cubic feet of gas that is totally unexploited.”

According to the governor-elect, arrangements are ongoing to obtain licence from the Federal Government and start the exploration of gas in the state and build the state LNG.

He said “we can utilise the full downstream optimism of gas, so we have our fertiliser blending plants, methanol plant, our petrochemicals running and you will definitely find a completely new economy in the state. You really don’t need money as a state to be able to do these,” the governor said.”

 

MIKE ABANG