In an effort to deepen local content in the petroleum industry, the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), has disclosed that the entire installation and construction works of its Train 7 project would be executed in Nigeria.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the NLNG, Mr Tony Attah, who made the disclosure at the ongoing Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) in Abuja, said that the Train 7 project remains a massive project that would attract significant foreign direct investment into the country in the months ahead.
Attah, who was represented by the General Manager, Production, Mr. Adeleye Falade, said that the motivation to build and operate Train 7 was bolstered by the proven successes recorded by Nigeria LNG in its past 20 years of operation, adding that in its current state, the company had significantly reduced the environmental hazards arising from gas flaring.
He said, “The addition of Train 7 to our current six-train plant will add another eight million metric tonnes of LNG to the current sustained 22 million metric tonnes production capacity of our plant.
“That will keep Nigeria prominently on the list of the top seven suppliers of global LNG. This is an enviable position for an African country to achieve in the face of our evolving technological advancement which is managed by highly skilled Nigerian professionals of varying competencies.
“The very quick wins from Train 7 project for Nigeria are the creation of jobs for our teaming youths, netting up to 12,000 direct jobs at the construction phase as well as the associated skills acquisition through a deliberate effort at technology transfer.
“Riding on the back of a robust Nigerian content plan endorsed by the Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), 55 per cent of the engineering activities for Train 7 will be carried out in-country and 55 per cent of all procurement for execution of the project will be undertaken by Nigerian vendors.
“100 per cent of the installations and construction will happen in Nigeria, and the entire project will attract huge foreign direct investment to the Nigerian economy. Other benefits include the emergence of upstream and other associated projects that will bolster our economy”, he explained.
Attah added that to date, the company had converted about 191.5bcm (billion standard cubic metres) or 6.8ch (trillion cubic feet) of Associated Gas (AG) to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs), thus, reducing gas flaring by upstream companies from over 60 per cent when it commenced operations to less than 20 per cent currently.