Lagos, July 10: Mobil Corp of the United States plans to build a 360-mw power plant in Nigeria, the managing director of state-run National Electric Power Authority, Hamzat Ibrahim said.

"Mobil plans to build a power plant in Bonny Island, Rivers State and we are discussing with the company on the modalities for the supply of electricity from the plant to the national grid," Ibrahim told a news conference here.Mobil is building a natural gas liquids (NGL) plant on the island, which will recover 350 million barrels of the NGL from the Oso gas stream after completion in 1998.

The bulk of the gas from the $660-million plant, which is being executed in partnership with state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp (NNPC), will be utilised at the power plant.

Senior Mobil executives visited Nigeria earlier in the year for talks with the Nigerian government which says it welcomes private sector participation in the power sector.

"We need investment in the power sector to meet growing demand which the government alone cannot provide," Ibrahim said.He said Nigeria's power demand would rise to 18,525 mw by the year 2010, from the present level of 2,470 mw.

The country's eight power stations have a combined installed capacity of 5,876 mw, well above the national demand, but operate at 34 per cent of the capacity.

The result is regular blackout which affects economic and social activities while most businesses in the vast African nation depend on private generating sets for their electricity supplies.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.