The Delta State government said it would partner the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology on Methanol fuel production.
The State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, made this known during a visit to Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology, on Thursday in Abuja.

Okowa said the visit was to work out mutual partnership that would be of benefit to residents of the state and other Nigerians.
“In the last few years, we have been thinking of how to put our gas resources into effective use and have been working on gas and energy investment to establish the Kwale Industrial Park.

” This is because we knew we have rich resources in terms of gas and we believed that there’s the need to put same into productive use, ” he said.Okowa said the realisation of the methanol policy would bring much gain to the people, because it is a cleaner fuel and cheaper source of gas.

The governor added that it would also help the nation in adding value to its crude oil and gas production.Okowa also commended the minister on the recent adoption of the National Policy on Methanol Fuel Production Technology.

In his remarks, Onu said Nigeria had raw materials in abundance and needed to add value to them by converting them into products to create wealth and jobs.

The minister added that methanol would impact transportation, the environment and manufacturing sector.
” By blending methanol with Premium Motor Spirits (PMS) the fuel we would be using would give our cars higher performance at a cheaper cost.

” Methanol will protect our forests because depending on firewood to cook is not what we should be doing at this time, ” Onu said.He said the methanol policy had entered its first phase of implementation, adding that the six geo-political zones would be sensitized on it.Onu said the partnership would be of huge benefits to both parties.