FG, NLNG to Sign $1bn Nigerian Content Deal on Train 7

Ejiofor Alike

Hope has rekindled for the actualisation of the Train 7 of the Nigerian LNG Limited as the federal government and the shareholders of the gas-processing and liquefaction company will today in Abuja, sign the Nigerian Content Plan (NCP) worth $1 billion for the project, which has been on the drawing board for 12 years.

NLNG currently has six trains capable of producing 22 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG, and five MTPA of Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs), that is Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) or cooking gas, and condensate – from 3.5 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas intake.

The construction of $7 billion seventh train to complement the existing six- train structure, will up the company’s total production capacity to 30 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG and restore Nigeria’s position as a major LNG supplier, which had once accounted for 10 per cent of global supplies.

THISDAY gathered that the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote and the Managing Director of NLNG, Mr. Tony Attah met at the NCDMB’s headquarters in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, yesterday and finalised arrangements for today’s signing ceremony.

The Shell-run company has the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) with 49 per cent stake; Shell Gas B.V (SGBV), 25.6 per cent; Total Gaz Electricite Holdings France, 15 per cent stake; and Eni International (N.A) N.V.S.a.r.l, with 10.4 per cent stake, as shareholders.
Train 7 project is expected to ramp up NLNG’s production capacity by 35 per cent.

According to a source at NCDMB, the Nigerian Content Plan sets out the work scopes to be executed by Nigerian facilities and manpower in each project, based on the provisions of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and existing capacities.

“The document would form the operating guide for project execution and monitoring. It would also aid the maximisation of Nigerian content deliverables in the project, by giving first consideration to indigenous goods, services and human resources, as well as opportunities to Nigerian companies.

“Under the Nigerian Content Plan for Train 7, the NCDMB introduced a provision that would ensure that a lead EPC bidder that has built capacity in-country is not disadvantaged with regards to cost,” the source explained.

The source added that the overall scope of work on the Train 7 project includes in-country and out-of country work, including the “design, engineering, procurement, expediting, transportation, management, construction, installation, pre-commissioning and start up support and acceptance testing of an expansion to the existing NLNG facility. “

According to the source, the timely finalisation of the NCP is a key outcome of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) the Board signed with the NLNG in May 2017.The SLA committed the two organisations to timely approvals and compliance with the Nigerian Content.

It was also gathered that the scheduled signing of the NCP is expected to enable timeous execution of other activities that would culminate to the planned issuing of tenders in the third quarter of 2019.