The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited yesterday in Abuja signed sales and purchase agreements (SPAs) with three Nigerian companies for domestic supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to boost supply of the commodity to various parts of Nigeria.
The SPAs agreement will see the three local firms – Asiko Power Limited, Bridport Energy Limited and Gas-Plus Synergy Limited take delivery of 1.1 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG on delivered ex ship (DES) basis.
Nigeria LNG Managing Director and Chief Executive, Tony Attah, at the execution of the SPAs agreements in Abuja, said: “The SPAs will facilitate the project execution and development of infrastructure led by off-takers to aid LNG delivery into the domestic market.
“The execution of these SPAs follows a Domestic LNG (DLNG) Workshop which was held in November 2019 to stress test the delivery model with industry stakeholders and a series of engagements to identify suitable actors to co-create the initiative and stimulate market interest for potential off-takers.
“Big congratulations to our Board of Directors and Shareholders for this demonstration of faith in the Decade of Gas vision, and commitment to the actualization of that vision.”
Attah also congratulated the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), other stakeholders and corporate entities, noting with Nigeria’s enormous gas reserves and with the right drive from the government and the support of corporate organizations, we as a nation can stand with our head held high to be counted among major players. The government has demonstrated its readiness to take the gas sector to the next level by declaring this decade our nation’s Decade of Gas, he added.
The NLNG chief believes that this will be the decade for Nigeria to leverage its gas reserves to accelerate power generation solutions through Gas-to-Power projects. It will be the decade when as a nation we stop reporting deaths from pollution through the use of wood and solid fuels as domestic energy sources. And it will be the decade for empowering local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to take advantage of the various investment opportunities that the Decade of Gas will attract, he said.
Atta also noted that in addition to the Domestic LNG Scheme, “we have the ongoing Train 7 project with capacity to attract about $10billion in foreign direct investment. We are also looking to expand the LPG value chain by increasing our supply to the domestic market, guaranteeing LPG supply and enhancing its affordability, and enabling the development of a value network for a sustainable ecosystem.
“This is a collaborative effort, and the active participation of all stakeholders will be required for us as a nation to reach the promised land and to attain the dream of economic expansion, industrialisation and improved opportunities for all Nigerians, flying on the wings of gas.”
Attah said besides the SPAs agreements, which NLNG undertakes to support the Federal Government’s Decade of Gas initiative, the company with its six-train plant has generated more than US$110 billion in revenue since it began operation in 1999.
Nigeria LNG has paid about US$18 billion as dividends to the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) 49 per cent shareholding and equivalent amount as dividend to the other three shareholders in the same time period. We have also paid about US$15 billion for feed gas purchases to the Federal Government of Nigeria through its shareholding in NNPC and about US$9 billion in taxes, he added.
“In addition, Nigeria LNG remains a major influencer in the domestic LPG sector. Presently, we have dedicated 450,000 tonnes per annum of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to the market and our focus is to support the use of cleaner energy to protect our citizens and the environment from the hazards posed by other cooking fuels by encouraging the use of cooking gas in Nigeria,” he said.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Asiko Power Limited, Mr Felix Ekundayo and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Bridport Energy Limited, Dr Jamal Akinade praised the management of Nigeria LNG for the initiative, noting that the scheme will have a multiplier effect on the econpomy.
