Oil & Energy
NLNG Commissions Research And Innovation Centre In RSU
The Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) has launched the Research and Innovation Centre for Computer and Electrical Engineering (RICCEE), in the Rivers State University, a major research and development initiative jointly promoted by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The project, valued at US$6.2 million, is being implemented under NLNG’s Human Capacity Development (HCD) Plan and forms part of the NCDMB Human Capital Development Institutional Strengthening Programme.
The centre is designed to strengthen the university’s capacity for advanced, industry-relevant research, specialised training, technology development and practical problem-solving in computer, electrical and electronics engineering.
The initiative is expected to promote industry-focused research and develop innovative solutions to operational challenges confronting Nigeria’s energy and industrial sectors.
The facility would be developed on approximately 9,336 square metres of land within Rivers State University and will comprise a three-storey building of more than 9,000 square metres, containing 18 specialised laboratories.
The laboratories would include facilities for Electronics and Signal Processing, Robotics and Embedded Systems, Software Engineering and Digital Forensics and Cybersecurity as well as provide offices, storage areas and technical administration spaces to support research, teaching and equipment management.
The building would incorporate sustainability features, including solar energy provisions, energy-efficient lighting and environmentally responsible systems designed to reduce operating costs and support reliable research activities.
A US$1.2 million Professorial Chair would also be established as part of the initiative to support advanced research, academic leadership, and industry collaboration.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, last Thursday, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG, Adeleye Falade, who was represented by Dr Sophia Horsfall, General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development of NLNG, described the new engineering facility as more than infrastructure, noting that it would serve as a hub for equipping students, lecturers and researchers with the tools required for practical learning, applied research and innovation in computer, electrical and electronics engineering.
Represented by the General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, NLNG, Sophia Horsfall, Falade stated that the centre would strengthen collaboration between academia and industry and ensure that research outcomes from Rivers State University directly address operational and societal challenges facing Nigeria.
He explained that the project is aimed at improving the capacity of institutions of learning through upgraded infrastructure, modern research facilities, technical equipment and industry-aligned training programmes that extend human capital development beyond the classroom.
According to him, the centre would help bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical industry requirements by enabling researchers and professionals to collaborate on innovations with commercial and developmental relevance.
Falade emphasised that while infrastructure is important, people remain the greatest investment, noting that education delivers the highest return by building confidence, competence and capacity for national development.
He further announced that NLNG’s Research and Development Implementation Consultancy would be based at the centre upon completion adding that the consultancy would support the development of a robust research and development framework in line with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010 and facilitate commercially viable, industry-relevant research in partnership with selected tertiary institutions.
Falade commended the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for its leadership in bringing industry and academia together and reaffirmed NLNG’s commitment to sustainable human capital development and indigenous technological advancement.
On his part, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, who was represented by the Director, Capacity Building Directorate, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, described the groundbreaking ceremony as a significant milestone in the implementation of the Board’s Human Capital Development objectives.
Ogbe confirmed that NCDMB is fully aligned with NLNG in the implementation of the RICCEE project and would work closely with all stakeholders to ensure its successful execution and completion, commending the NLNG for its commitment to the project.
He explained that the project forms part of NCDMB’s Institutional Strengthening Programme, which seeks to establish enduring partnerships with institutions of higher learning by providing infrastructure that enhances teaching, research, innovation and practical skills development.
He challenged the centre to become a vibrant hub of discovery, creativity, enterprise and technological advancement, where students would be inspired to innovate, researchers would develop solutions to real-world challenges and industry would find reliable partners for research and development.
He also commended NLNG for its commitment to the project and praised the Governing Council, Vice-Chancellor and management of Rivers State University for their dedication to academic ex.
In his address, the Vice-Chancellor of Rivers State University, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, described the occasion as a historic milestone for the institution and reaffirmed the university’s vision of becoming a leading institution focused on solving practical societal problems through research, innovation and human capacity development.
Prof. Zeb-Obipi stated that the RICCEE project aligns with the university’s 2026–2030 Strategic Development Plan, which prioritises the improvement of academic programmes and the strengthening of research collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship.
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Nigeria’s growing solar market will take centre stage as the Renewable Energy Forum Africa (REFA) 2026 holds in Lagos on November 25-26 with the backing of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
Organised by the Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA) and supported by SolarPower Europe, the forum would bring together investors, developers, regulators, utilities and policymakers at the Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel, Victoria Island.
The agency said the forum would strengthen partnerships, attract investment and support Nigeria’s clean energy and local manufacturing ambitions.
REA Managing Director, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, is billed to deliver the keynote address at the opening plenary.
The forum would also examine local manufacturing following the launch of Nigeria’s first privately owned 100MW solar module assembly plant in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.
The event would also feature B2B meetings, an exhibition and the AFSIA Awards on November 25.
It would be noted that Nigeria is West Africa’s leading solar market, with about 618MWp operational capacity, ranking first in the region and eighth in Africa, according to AFSIA.
The country also leads the continent in mini-grid capacity with 132MWp, while its commercial and industrial (C&I) solar capacity stands at 385MWp.
The market is receiving fresh support through the $750m World Bank-backed Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme, targeting 1,350 mini-grids and electricity access for 17.5 million Nigerians.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has appointed eight pre-shipment inspection agents to monitor crude oil and gas exports, alongside two monitoring and evaluation agents to oversee their activities.
The appointments, announced in a notice signed by Aderinola Shonekan, Director of the CBN’s Trade and Exchange Department, took effect on October 2, 2026, under the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme.
The notice directs authorised dealer banks, the Nigeria Customs Service, petroleum regulators, terminal operators and oil and gas companies to comply with the revised arrangements.
The CBN assigned the eight inspection agents to specific crude oil and gas export terminals as part of the revised framework.
The allocations are as follows:
Dakee Engineering and Construction Ltd.: LNG, Escravos (Gas), Bonny River Terminal (BRT) and EGTL.
Trexem Energy Services Limited: Egina, Qua-Iboe and Tulja. Geoscape Limited: Escravos, ERHA, Odudu and FSO Cawthorne.
617 Limited: Bonga, Brass, Usan and Eagle.Robinson International Energy Ltd.: Ugo-Cha, Penington, Aje, Ima, Oyo and Nembe. Trobell International Nigeria Limited: Forcados, Bonny and Okwori.
Integrated Shipping Services Nigeria Ltd.: Akpo, Antan, Okoro, Anyala-Madu and Ebok.
Kephren Business Ltd.: Ukpokiti, Utapate, Yoho, Abo, Agbami, Ajapa, Okono, Okwok and additional marginal streams designated by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The CBN also appointed two monitoring and evaluation agents, the Q&Q Control Services Limited and the Arlington Securitas Nigeria Limited to oversee the inspection companies.
The Q&Q Control Services Ltd. would monitor 617 Limited, Trexem Energy Services Limited, Geoscape Limited and Kephren Business Ltd while the Arlington Securitas Nigeria Limited would monitor Dakee Engineering and Construction Ltd., Trobell International Nigeria Limited, Robinson International Energy Ltd. and Integrated Shipping Services Nigeria Ltd.
The latest appointments follow previous changes to the CBN’s monitoring arrangements for crude oil and gas exports.
The latest changes update the companies responsible for inspecting export cargoes and the terminals assigned to them. The notice requires the relevant institutions and operators to comply with the new allocations from October 2, 2026.
The appointments also come amid growth in Nigeria’s gas export earnings.
According to the CBN, Nigeria’s gas export earnings rose to $2.53 billion in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting stronger earnings from the country’s natural gas sector and contributing to its external trade position.
The revised inspection arrangements place designated agents in charge of specified export terminals, while the monitoring and evaluation companies oversee the inspection agents’ activities under the scheme.
Recall that in May 2024, the apex bank appointed 11 pre-shipment inspection and monitoring agents under the export supervision scheme.
The government subsequently reviewed the allocation of oil export terminals in March 2025, assigning additional terminals to nine inspection agents appointed under the scheme.
In July 2026, the CBN also appointed Candid Oil Services Limited as the pre-shipment inspection agent for the Taurus Oil and Gas Depot.
The Iran war and the lack of LNG supply from the Middle East have upended forecasts of near-term natural gas demand and import costs.
So far this year, economies in Europe and Asia have relied more on renewables and coal for power generation to offset reduced gas supplies procured at very high prices.
This year’s crisis has prompted governments to rethink energy policies with energy security the top priority, again, after the 2022-2023 energy crisis.
After the decline in global gas demand this year, due to prices at four-year highs, the obvious question for gas market participants is where demand is going after the current crisis ends. Has the second gas crisis in four years permanently undermined expectations of long-term gas demand growth?
Gas cannot be replaced in many industrial processes, yet. Electricity-generating systems in major economies that have relied on gas for power cannot have a reliable electricity supply without gas.
Still, this year and over the past four years, key gas markets in Europe and Asia have seen the share of gas in their electricity mix decline.
The UK, the Netherlands, and Turkey, and major Asian economies China, Japan, and South Korea, have all seen the share of gas-fired electricity drop, according to data from think tank Ember cited by Reuters columnist Gavin Maguire.
The spike in natural gas prices has accelerated Europe’s renewables rollout, which took off in earnest earlier this decade when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and cut off pipeline gas supply to most of Europe. The share of renewables has surged in the EU and the UK in recent years, gradually sidelining gas as the reliable backup fuel rather than the one meeting growing electricity demand.
Globally, “Gas is losing its share in the global power mix as renewables increasingly meet rising electricity demand,” Ember said in a report earlier this year. The analysis found that the share of gas in the global power mix declined for the fifth consecutive year in 2025, despite a small rise in absolute gas generation. Strong growth in clean power, led by solar and wind, met around 68% of global electricity demand growth over the five years to 2025, reducing the need for a significant rise in gas power generation
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According to Ember, 61 out of 124 economies generating electricity from gas had passed their gas generation peak.
However, these countries accounted for around one-fifth of global gas-fired electricity generation in 2025. So the large gas-generating economies, albeit a smaller group, haven’t seen their peak in gas power generation.
The biggest emerging economies, China, India, and Brazil, have actually met their surging electricity demand without turning to gas, Ember noted.
China’s gas share remained close to 3% of the electricity mix in 2025 despite rapid demand growth, while gas power generation in India and Brazil plays a more limited balancing role, the think tank said.
“The economics and energy security case for electricity are increasingly moving in the same direction,” said Malgorzata Wiatros-Motyka, ?Senior Electricity Analyst at Ember.
“As renewables lower costs and reduce exposure to fuel price shocks and geopolitical disruptions, gas is steadily losing the advantages that once made it the default fuel for power system growth.”
The writing may have been on the wall for natural gas producers and exporters if natural gas was only used in power generation.
But natural gas key uses include as feedstock in industrial manufacturing, including cement and steel, as a chemical feedstock for fertilizer, or as the start of the supply chain of manufacturing plastics, paints, synthetic fabrics, and medicine, to name a few.
And then comes the biggest twist in energy and electricity demand forecasts in recent years—the AI boom. Data centers will drive a large part of the rise in global electricity demand, which has returned to growth even in the U.S. and Europe after a decade or so of flatlining. Renewable energy alone will not meet the surge in power demand, and gas will play a key role in America and in most of Asia, where many countries are positioning to become AI and data center hubs.
The biggest LNG producers, exporters, and traders see long-term gas demand growth intact despite this year’s supply shock that is reducing consumption amid spiking prices.
For example, Shell, the world’s biggest LNG trader, said in its annual LNG Outlook 2026 this summer that surging gas demand in South and Southeast Asia would push global LNG demand up by 65% by 2050 from 2025 levels, although growth this year has been stalled by the Strait of Hormuz crisis.
Shell sees global LNG demand increasing to nearly 700 million tons annually by 2050, up by around 65% from the 2025 levels of 422 million tons.
“The conflict created a system-wide shock with disruption cascading across all segments of the economy, but the LNG industry has proved resilient and able to adapt to changing market conditions,” Cederic Cremers, President of Integrated Gas at Shell, commented in the outlook.
“While more investment in both supply and demand infrastructure is needed, the long-term outlook remains strong and LNG will continue to be a stabilising force in the global energy system.”
The International Gas Union (IGU) said in its 2026 World LNG Report in July that “while LNG industry is not immune from the challenges of operating in an era of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, its unique ability to re-distribute large quantities of clean-burning energy from a broadening supply base only enhance LNG’s role as a ‘shock absorber’ to the global economy.”
By; Tsvetana Paraskova
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