By ebosele@hotmail.com –
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged the management of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited to intensify efforts to harness Nigeria’s abundant gas resources for domestic and economic development, rather than allowing them to be flared.
The President made the call on Wednesday at the State House, Abuja, when he received members of the NLNG Board, led by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Adeleye Falade.
Tinubu commended the NLNG management for improving the company’s capacity and generating strong returns on investment, but stressed the need to ensure that Nigeria derives greater domestic benefits from its gas resources.
“I am inspired to understand that you are not limiting yourself to the gradual objective of upgrading,” the President said.
He identified domestic utilisation of gas as a major priority, urging the company to reduce gas flaring and convert what could become an environmental liability into economic benefits for Nigerians.
“My major concern is the domestic utilisation, where you must be able to take out the flaring and convert potential environmental liability to what could be strategically and economically beneficial to the consumers in the country,” he said.
While acknowledging NLNG’s efforts to increase revenue and leverage international opportunities, Tinubu urged the company to pay greater attention to domestic needs.
“Yes, you are doing great to really want the revenue up and taking advantage of international interests so that Nigeria might be deriving benefits, but help us back home,” he added.
The President assured the NLNG team that his administration would provide necessary incentives to support further expansion and maximise the company’s potential for the benefit of Nigerians.
“If any other incentive is needed to stimulate growth and expand your capacity, I will be willing to do that,” Tinubu said.
He also called for greater domestication of energy resources and pricing mechanisms that would make the benefits of Nigeria’s natural resources more accessible to ordinary citizens.
“Whatever asset that we have in the ground is nothing unless it’s brought up to service the economy, the people, and realisation of a good return on investment,” he said.
Earlier, Falade said the NLNG Board was at the State House to brief the President on the company’s operations since the new management assumed office in April.
He disclosed that NLNG had generated more than $150 billion since inception, with its shareholders, including the Federal Government, receiving about $47 billion in dividends. Nigeria holds a 49 per cent stake in the company.
According to him, NLNG had previously operated at about 60 per cent capacity because of constraints in crude oil production, which limited the company to four of its six available production trains.
Falade said improved oil production had enabled NLNG to increase its operations to five trains, with further improvements expected.
He also disclosed that all Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), popularly known as cooking gas, produced by the company is currently dedicated to the domestic market.
The NLNG chief executive said the company was keen to inaugurate Train 7, which is expected to increase its production capacity by 35 per cent.
He added that NLNG currently accounts for about five per cent of the global LNG market.
Falade further said the company’s shareholders had commended the stability in Nigeria’s fiscal environment, noting that the development was helping to attract additional investment into the oil and gas sector.
He also commended security agencies and industry regulators for contributing to the stability currently being experienced in the sector.
The NLNG boss informed the President that the Bonny-Bodo Road and Bridge project, financed by NLNG, had been completed and was awaiting official commissioning.
Other members of the NLNG delegation included Deputy Managing Director, Olakunle Osobu; Board Director and Managing Director, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited and Country Chair, TotalEnergies, Matthieu Bouyer; Board Director, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Nigeria Agip Exploration, Maurizio Pinna; and General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Sophia Horsfall.
Also present were Manager, Government Relations and Regulatory Compliance, Abdul Umar; Head, Government Relations, Tonbrafa Nanaghan; and Senior Government Relations Advisor, Rufai Mohammed Lawal.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga; and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Energy Transition, Yasmin Mohammed, attended the meeting.
