The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company, NLNG, says it plans to boost Nigeria’s gas production by looking at the supply side, the infrastructure, and also the commercial or economic framework needed to address the construction of gas pipelines, through the ongoing NLNG Train 7 project.
This was disclosed by Mr. Phillip Mshelbila, Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria LNG Ltd at the 2022 Nigerian Oil and Gas (NOG) conference in Abuja, during a panel session themed “Harnessing the Opportunities in the Nigerian Gas Sector.”
Meanwhile, other stakeholders, including, Mr. Roger Brown, the Chief Executive Officer, Seplat Energy Plc, said issues faced by industry players include currency convertibility to enable the importation of equipment in dollars, having mainly a Naira revenue stream.
What they are saying
The NLNG chief said, there was a need for a collaborative and comprehensive solution to the issue which was already captured in the Decade of Gas Plan of the Federal Government.
He stated, “What many people may not be aware of is that we actually have the plan captured in the decade of gas framework.
“It’s an excellent piece of work. It has looked at the demand side of natural gas in Nigeria, domestic and export.
He added that the gas plan of Nigeria has “looked at the supply side, then looked at infrastructure, and then it has looked at the commercial or economic framework that is needed to address all of this. And it has outlined very specific things that need to be done to address it”.
The plan includes the ongoing NLNG Train 7 project as well as the gas to power initiative that would drive industrial growth in the country.
Seplat boss, Mr Roger Brown, said “there’s a wall of money ready to come into this country, but they look at barriers to it and one of the biggest barriers is the currency.
“So, currency convertibility you know, bringing equipment in dollars and then having a mainly Naira revenue stream.
“These things are fixable. We need to get those right there in any amount of big projects and really exciting projects. And what I like about the economics here in Nigeria is that they are unbelievably good.”
On boosting supply, he hinted that $700 million ANOH Gas Processing Company being constructed by Seplat and the NNPC at Asaa, Ohaji/Egbema, in Imo State was near completion.
He stated that when completed, it would provide gas to boost the much-needed supply of power to millions of homes and businesses across Nigeria to facilitate a better standard of living and drive economic growth.
In case you missed it
- Nairametrics reported that Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Index emerged as the best performing index with a gain of 58% during the half-year ended June 30, 2022, as the Nigerian All Share Index closed the first half of 2022 with a gain of about 21.17% year to date (YTD) making it one of the best-performing stock markets in the world.
- According to data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited tracked by Nairametrics, the oil and gas index which measures the performance of the oil and gas firms quoted on the NGX grew by 58% or 200.33 basis points to close at 545.34 index point as against the opening index of 345.01 index points at the beginning of the year 2022 trading in January 4, 2022.
