Oghareki power station
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Oghareki power station is a 128-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant, which has started construction, but has been delayed amid corruption charges in Delta State, Nigeria.[1] It is also referred to as the Delta State IPP and the Oghara IPP.
Location
The map below shows the approximate location of the power station in Oghara I - Ethiope West LGA, Delta State, Nigeria.
Background
The project was awarded to Davnotch Nigeria in 2009,[2][3] and one of its owners, Assemblyman Victor Ochei, was almost immediately accused of corruption,[4] along with partners Rolls Royce and PS Engineering Ltd.[5]
Accusations by Delta State stakeholders of slow-going on construction and possible criminal activity resulted in a written defense of the project by Davnotch management, saying that they expect the turbines to be shipped in August 2011 and that you can't work in the Niger Delta rainy season. They ended with a flourish:
- "IF BUILDING A POWER PLANT IS THAT EASY OUR COUNTRY WOULD HAVE SOLVED HER POWER PROBLEMS A LONG TIME AGO ..."[6]
In 2012, one reason given for the delay in completing the project was the government did not adequately provide for a gas pipeline to bring natural gas to fuel the power station.[7]
In early 2015, fire burned the warehouse that stored the turbines purchased for the project, which were offsite in the town of Oghara.[8] Later that year, Vanguard called the project "abandoned" by Davnotch, reporting that:
- "... weeds had overtaken the project site deserted for about a year now. The premises lay idle. The cabins, which served as temporary offices, were under lock and key, while the warehouses were principally unfinished."[1]
A visit by the five-member Delta State House of Assembly Ad Hoc Committee investigating the project a few months later found only a perimeter fence, three buildings, a gantry, and an unpaid guard.[9]
In 2016, Davnotch Ltd sued the Delta state government for debts owed to it, while the government had decided to put the project up for sale.[10]
Also in 2016, the project became embroiled in an investigation by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office into Rolls Royce's activities with a Nigerian power plant company. Rolls Royce sold the Nigerian company in 2014. Financial Times reported:
- "The SFO Nigeria investigation is examining whether Rolls-Royce and its agents were involved in any bribery of government officials up to the year 2013 in connection with energy tenders in the country and a Nigerian company called PSL Engineering & Control, people familiar with the situation said."[3]
In 2017, the governor of Delta State said the government needed more funds to connect the turbines to a gas pipeline to finish the project.[11]
In 2018, a youth group, Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative, petitioned Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to reopen a probe into the abandoned project.[12]
Project Details
- Sponsor: Delta State Ministry of Power
- Parent company: Delta State Ministry of Power
- Location: Oghara I - Ethiope West LGA, Delta State, Nigeria
- Coordinates: 5.948576, 5.720640 (approximate)
- Gross capacity (under construction, but delayed): 128 MW
- Gas turbine units 1-2: 64 MW per unit (no start-up date)
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Godwin Oghre, N23b Oghara IPP abandoned, Vanguard, Oct 28, 2015
- ↑ James Burton, [1], The Daily Mail, May 19, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Michael Peel, Peggy Hollinger and Caroline Binham, Rolls-Royce faces Nigeria corruption probe, Financial Times, May 18 2016
- ↑ Another Ibori? Group Accuses Delta State legislator Victor Ochei Of Massive Corruption, SarahaReporters, May 12, 2010
- ↑ Fatally flawed? TRACE International due diligence in question again in Rolls-Royce’s Nigeria case, Corruption Watch UK, Feb 23, 2017
- ↑ RE: Delta State Elders, Leaders & Stakeholders Forum`s' Spurious Allegations Against Davnotch, The Nigerian Voice, Nov 30, 2010.
- ↑ Nigeria: The Messy Details of N21.75 Million Delta IPP Project, AllAfrica, Jul 8, 2012
- ↑ Fire compounds N23b Delta IPP’s woes, The Nation, Jan 15, 2016
- ↑ Hendrix Oliomogbe, After N23.2bn, Delta’s IPP project remains a mirage, May 8, 2016
- ↑ Firm Plans Legal Action Against Okowa Over N8 Billion Debt, Uses Arbitration To Stop Sale Of Controversial IPP Project, SarahasReporters, Jul 11, 2016
- ↑ Hendrix Oliomogbe and Owen Akenzua, Delta needs N20b to complete power project, says Okowa,The Guardian, May 18, 2017
- ↑ Scam: EFCC Re-Opens Investigation On N21.7bn Abandoned Delta IPP Project, Urhobo Today, Jun 27, 2018
