President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commissioned the new 40,000 cubic metre Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) carrier built for West Africa Gas Limited (WAGL), reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to driving clean and sustainable energy solutions across the continent.
This is contained in a statement posted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday.
Represented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, the President, commended WAGL Energy Limited, NNPC Limited, and Sahara Group for their strategic foresight, technical excellence, and unwavering dedication to expanding Africa’s role in the global clean energy value chain.
What the NNPCL GCEO said
In his remarks, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC Ltd., Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari described WAGL’s LPG Vessel as a great addition to gas development efforts in Nigeria.
The GCEO, who was represented by the Executive Vice President, Gas, Power & New Energy, Mr. Olalekan Ogunleye, added that the vessel will be crucial in realising the impact of gas in Nigeria’s economic development.
According to him, NNPC Ltd. is deepening its commitment to ensure LPG affordability, availability, and access, nationwide.
“NNPC Ltd. is proud to be a major shareholder in this indigenous Company, which in addition to the newly commissioned MT Iyaloja (Lagos), owns four (4) other LPG vessels in its growing fleet, delivering over 6 million MT of LPG across West Africa over the last 5 years,” he added.
What WAGL’s CEO said:
Also speaking, WAGL’s Chairman/Executive Director at Sahara Group, Mr. Temitope Shonubi, noted that the company’s expansion demonstrates its vision of responsibly driving efforts aimed at bridging the continent’s critical energy infrastructure gap.”
“The addition of MT Iyaloja (Lagos) embodies the spirit of progress and empowerment championed by the iconic Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, whose legacy we honour. Sahara Group is proud of its partnership with NNPC Ltd. and reaffirms its commitment to partnerships that drive energy access in Africa,” he added.
WAGL’s Managing Director, Mr. Mohammed Sani Bello, stressed that the company is dedicated to expanding its integrated supply network across the entire energy value chain.
“WAGL already has plans to further expand the fleet within the next two years with the addition of a Small Gas Carrier and a Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC),” he added.
Backstory
Earlier, WAGL Energy Limited announced a significant expansion of its fleet capacity, now surpassing 160,000 cubic meters.
The move, it added, is consistent with the company’s vision of ensuring sustainable and affordable energy solutions for homes, businesses, and industries.
In July 2024, NNPCL secured a maintenance agreement with WAGL Energy for a major Nigerian crude oil terminal in Delta state.
According to NNPCL, Nigerian Pipelines and Storage Company Limited (NPSC), a downstream subsidiary of NNPC, signed an agreement with WAGL for the provision of Operation and Maintenance (O and M) Services to the Escravos Crude Oil Terminal Facility.
More insights
The vessel owned by WAGL Energy Limited (an NNPC Ltd. /Sahara Group Joint Venture) is a dual-fuel, fully refrigerated LPG carrier. This latest addition brings WAGL’s total LPG vessel capacity to 162,000 CBM. Other vessels in the fleet include MT Africa Gas, MT Sahara Gas, MT BaruMK, and MT Sapet.
The symbolic ribbon cutting of MT Iyaloja (Lagos), named in honour of Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, MFR, (the late mother of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu), was performed by the Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, Alhaja Folasade Mujidat Tinubu-Ojo.
