Olusola Bello
Over10 years after the decision to have train 7 in place by the shareholders of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, the ground breaking ceremony of the project is finally taking place today on Bonny Island, Rivers State.
This development marks a significant phase of gas development in the country as the capacity of the plant would jump from 22 million metric tonnes per year to 30 million metric tonnes per year.
A Final Investment Decision (FID) for Train 7 Project was taken in December 2020, which will increase its production by 35% and its competitiveness in the global LNG market.
The award of contracts for the engineering, procurement and construction activities were expected to follow the closure of bank and Export Credit Agency (ECA) financing, and the finalization of some key supporting commercial agreements that took place in early 2020.
The actualisation of the Train 7 Project comes as NLNG celebrates 30 years of its incorporation and 20 years of safe and reliable operations since exporting its first LNG cargo in 1999.
NLNG is an incorporated Joint-Venture owned by four Shareholders, namely, the Federal Government of Nigeria, represented by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (49%), Shell Gas B.V. (25.6%), Total Gaz Electricite Holdings France (15%), and Eni International N.A. N.V. S.àr.l (10.4%).
According to Tony Attah, MD/CEO of NLNG, “Train 7 is the crux of a growth agenda which will ensure the Company’s position as the 5th major supplier of global LNG is maintained, increasing value to its Shareholders and other stakeholders, as well as further reducing the gas that would otherwise have been flared, in fulfilment of its vision of ‘being a global company, helping to build a better Nigeria’”.
Over 12, 000 jobs will be created during the peak of construction,trade and commercial activities within the Niger Delta region equally receiving a boost as a result. The Project will also support the development of local engineering and fabrication capacity in the country. Other opportunities for local content include procurement, logistics, equipment leasing, insurance, hotels, office supplies, aviation, haulage, and many more.”
The Project upon completion will support the Federal Government’s drive to diversify its revenue portfolio and generate more revenue from Nigeria’s proven gas reserves of over 200 Trillion Cubic Feet (Tcf).
The construction period after FID will last approximately five years with first LNG rundown expected in 2024.
