The federal government has commended Lee Engineering & Construction Company, NNPC Limited and other parties handling the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System Midline Compressor Project for staying on schedule.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo gave the commendation during an inspection of the compressor stations at Ologbo and Okada in Edo State, where he expressed satisfaction with the pace of work and urged the parties to sustain momentum towards completion and commissioning.

Ekpo, accompanied by NNPC’s Executive Vice President for Gas, Power and New Energy Olalekan Ogunleye and Lee Engineering Chairman Leemon Ikpea, said the project was central to the government’s drive to expand gas infrastructure and deepen domestic gas use. He said strategic investment in gas transportation was essential to unlocking growth and improving energy security.

He said completing the compressor stations would significantly raise gas pressure along the pipeline, boosting volumes delivered to industries, commercial users and power plants across Lagos and western Nigeria. The ELPS II expansion is doubling the line’s nameplate capacity from about 1.1 to roughly 2.2 billion standard cubic feet per day, with the compressors designed to move larger volumes without laying a new line.

According to the latest progress report submitted to the NMDPRA, construction stood at 92.7 per cent in January 2026 and reached 94.88 per cent in May. Once operational, the stations are expected to improve gas delivery to thermal power plants, cement makers, fertilizer producers and other major industrial consumers.