Nigeria LNG Exports Landmark 4000th Cargo to Turkey

Ejiofor Alike
Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) on Monday reached another major milestone with the exportation of its 4000th cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from its Bonny Island Terminal in Rivers State to Mamara LNG Terminal in Turkey, which also received the company’s historic 3000th cargo, three years ago.

The company’s General Manager in charge of External Relations, Dr Kudo Eresia-Eke, said in a statement yesterday that the cargo shipped on board one of NLNG’s chartered vessels, LNG Sokoto, was sold to Botas Petroleum Pipeline Corporation.

According to him, the cargo is estimated to arrive its destination by May 14.
He noted that NLNG exported its first cargo on October 9, 1999, to Montoir LNG Terminal in France, and “has since grown to what has been described as Africa’s largest single private sector industrial investment, safely and reliably supplying about seven percent of total world LNG demand.”

The company has plans to expand its production capacity at its six-train plant complex, the fourth largest LNG plant in the world, from 22 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to some 30 mtpa. These plans are expected to stimulate upstream gas development of the country’s vast gas resources and attract about $15 billion of foreign direct investments in the upstream alone as well as another $10 billion in the construction of the trains.

Speaking on the company’s achievement, its Managing Director and Chief Executive, Tony Attah, said he was excited about this milestone, which would not have been possible without the shared vision within the company of helping to “build a better Nigeria; our core values of integrity, teamwork, respect, excellence and caring; the commitment of our staff; and the cooperation from Government and Shareholders as well as other stakeholders including our loyal customers.

“This milestone is coming at a crucial time. It symbolises many things. It signifies that NLNG remains a successful company. At 4000th cargo, we have shown the world that NLNG is a world-class company, safely and reliably delivering clean energy to its customers. Secondly, and most importantly for Nigeria, it shows that it is time for gas; it is time to encourage this success story. This is the time to unleash the country’s gas potentials through catalysts like Trains 7 and 8 to spur industrial and economic transformation,” he said.

“NLNG is a success that we need to sustain as an inspiration to the country. It has generated $90 billion in revenues as well as paid $5.5 billion in taxes. The company has generated $13 billion for the federal government through feedgas purchases and $15 billion in dividends. While monetising the country’s gas resources, the company has contributed to the reduction in gas flaring from about 65 per cent before it commenced operations to less than 20 per cent today.

“In addition, NLNG has contributed significantly to the domestic LPG industry, supplying some 40 per cent of the cooking gas available to Nigerian homes and businesses. This intervention continues as part of strategies and initiatives aimed at deepening the availability and usage of cooking gas in the country. In the Niger Delta region, NLNG has committed more than $200 million to Corporate Social Responsibility projects especially in the areas of capacity building and infrastructure development. The company is ready to further commit some N60 billion to see the Bonny-Bodo road come into reality and also commit N3 billion annually for 25 years to transform Bonny into a destination of choice. All these are achieved with a management staff made up entirely of Nigerians and a workforce which is 95 per cent indigenous,” he added.