NNPC, NLNG seal $2.5bn Gas Supply Deal

By Etuka Sunday

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has challenged shareholders of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) to work very quickly towards expanding the production capacity of the company beyond Train 7 to take advantage of developments in the global LNG market.
The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, gave the charge in Abuja, during the signing ceremony of a $2.5bn pre-payment agreement between NNPC and NLNG for Upstream gas development projects to supply gas to NLNG Trains 1 – 6.
Speaking on the significance of the agreement, the GMD said it would help to resolve the issues around gas supply to Trains 1 – 6, stressing that there was need to fast-track action on the process of bringing more trains on stream.
“Here at NNPC, we are thinking beyond Train 7; if your ambition is Train 7”, Kyari challenged the shareholders.
He noted that though NLNG has been a huge success as a company, it must go beyond its current achievements and initiate other viable projects capable of generating better return on investment.
“Actually, our thinking should be on what else we can do or what other projects we can work on as quickly as possible to take advantage of the enormous potential in-country. There is also the need for us to take advantage of what is happening in the global market and do things very differently. There are opportunities there and our company must move into those locations and we must move fast,” he declared.
The NNPC helmsman said the pre-payment gas supply agreement was a milestone which aligned with the Federal Government’s aspirations of monetizing the nation’s enormous gas resources, protecting the Federation’s investment in the NLNG, ensuring full capacity utilization (22mtpa LNG and 5mtpa NGLs) of Trains 1-6 plants, generating employment, and providing new vistas of growth opportunities in the nation’s LNG sector.
Earlier in his address, the Managing Director of NLNG, Engr. Tony Attah, noted that the signing of the gas supply pre-payment agreement was a significant step towards ensuring the company’s business sustainability and competitiveness.
He called for support to ensure that the Final Investment Decision on the Train 7 Project is taken this year without fail, adding that the project was no longer an ambitious one in the light of developments in the global LNG market.
Highpoint of the occasion was the signing of the gas supply pre-payment agreement which was witnessed by the Country Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor, and representatives of Total, Eni/NAOC, amongst others.