The final investment decision (FID) on Nigeria LNG train 7 will be signed next week. This is just as a 20-year gas supply agreement for the project was sealed last weekend with gas producers.
The Gas producers are Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC), Nigerian Petroleum Development Development Company ( NPDC) and Oando PLC
The signing of the gas agreement a critical step towards the realization of the Train 7 Project of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) .
The potentially $7 billion project is expected to move the production of the company from 22 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 30mtpa.
In addition to this, its execution will create over 40,000 direct and indirect jobs, and deliver 100 per cent engineering of all non-cryogenic areas in-country.
A release by NNPC Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Samson Makoji stated that on the impact of the project to the national economy, the NNPC boss said it would boost the Federal Government’s revenue by $9bn and generate about 10,000 direct jobs and 40,000 indirect jobs to ease the youth unemployment challenge in the country.
Also at the event, Osagie Okunbor, Country Chairman of Shell Group of Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), expressed appreciation to Mele Kyari for his purposeful leadership which saw the partners coming together to sign the Gas Supply Agreement.
He, however, urged the partners to look beyond Train 7, adding that it was time to move into action.
Wale Tinubu, group chief executive Oando Plc, on his part, expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for creating policies that encouraged indigenous companies like his to join the league of gas suppliers to NLNG and thank the NNPC chief executive for his leadership and support.
On his part, Patrick Olima, who represented Managing Director of Total Nigeria pledged the company’s commitment to making gas available for the NLNG and executing other big projects in the country like the Egina Project.
The Managing Director of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) who was also represented by Massimiliano Bertona also thanked Mele Kyari for the skilful way he drove the process leading up to the signing of the Gas Supply Agreement and pledged the commitment of the company to supplying gas to NLNG.
The Managing Director of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Mansur Sambo, said he was excited at the opportunity of the company joining the elite club of gas suppliers to NLNG and pledged the company’s commitment to meeting the terms of the agreement.
Speaking on the buyer’s side of the transaction, the Managing Director of NLNG, Tony Attah, described the event as a great moment for Nigeria as the gas supply would help consolidate Nigeria’s position in the global NLNG market.
He, however, requested that more needed to be done to get the country to “fly on the wing of gas” in the face of the changing global energy dynamics, adding that NLNG was ready to build more trains if the gas producing companies can supply the gas required.
The highpoint of the event was the signing of the Gas Supply Agreement by all the parties and the signing of Term Sheet for the development of OML 144 by NNPC, SPDC, TEPNG, NAOC and Sunlink.
Simbi Wabote, executive secretary of the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) said the benefits of the Train 7 project would extend to site civil works on roads, piling, and jetties, 100 per cent local procurement of all low and high voltage cables, non-cryogenic valves, protective paints and coatings, sacrificial anodes and many others from local manufacturing plants.
The target, according to the NCDMB boss, is to assemble over 70 per cent of all non-cryogenic pumps and control valves in-country, while other spin-off opportunities include logistics, equipment leasing, insurance, hotels, office supplies, aviation, haulage and many more.
According to him, the schedule of the NOGICD Act set the minimum engineering man-hours for Front End Engineering Design and Detailed Engineering on LNG facility at 50 per cent.
Wabote urged the SCD consortium to fully implement the agreed Nigerian content levels as contained in the approved Nigerian Content Plan for Train-7 project, covering engineering, fabrication, civil works, local procurement, project services, logistics, equipment leasing, insurance, hotels, office supplies, aviation, haulage, human capacity development and jobs.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, had urged stakeholders connected with the NLNG Train-7 project to fast-track actions related to it.
He said the project is one of his focus areas to put an end to the drought of FIDs in the oil and gas industry in the last few years.”
He said apart from the job opportunities and the accruable revenues from the multibillion-dollar Train-7 project, there is the additional tonnage of LPG to be produced from Train-7 as a key benefit to reduce importation of LPG into the country”.
He is also excited that Train-7 project attracts other upstream gas supply projects required to keep the LNG train busy. The project opens up other development opportunities for some gas fields in the shallow and deep offshore acreages such as HI, HA, HK, and Opoukunou-Tuomo fields,” he added.
