Mshelbila Takes over at NLNG, Vows to Complete Train 7

Peter Uzoho

The new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, Dr. Philip Mshelbila, has commenced his single five-year tenure at the company with the promise to complete the train 7 project under construction.

He also promised the company’s shareholders and the Nigerian people that he would ensure that more Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) were taken to further ramp up NLNG’s gas supply capacity and secure its place in the global gas market.

Mshelbila, in a statement by the NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Mrs. Eyono Fatayi-Williams, yesterday, stated this weekend in Port Harcourt, River State, at the farewell and welcome ceremony, where the mantle of leadership of the company was handed over to him by his predecessor, Mr. Tony Attah, whose tenure ended on August 31, 2021.

The ceremony attracted dignitaries from the political and oil and gas spaces, among whom were the Governors of Rivers and Edo States, Mr. Nyesom Wike and Mr. Godwin Obaseki; Executive Secretary the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Simbi Wabote; NLNG Board Chairman, Dr. Edmund Daukoru, amongst others.

In his acceptance speech, Mshelbila stated, “We will complete Train 7 and take more FIDs to secure our place in the global market. We will complete the Bonny-Bodo Road and so many other social projects to fulfill our vision of helping to build a better Nigeria.”

He said he was honoured to lead the company and vowed that the company would remain the leading LNG company in Africa and Nigeria’s most successful business model.

Admitting that the challenge before him and his team in a world marked by uncertainties and transitions was huge, Mshelbila, who had just rounded-up his tenure as the Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic LNG Company of Trinidad & Tobago, stated that he was not daunted.

He added, “It is with a great sense of responsibility that I stand here today, honoured to be the Managing Director of NLNG. The challenge before us is huge in a world marked by uncertainties and transitions, but I am not daunted.

“I am not daunted because I stand with a set of seasoned senior and extended management teams who are worth their weight in gold.

“I am not daunted because, together with the management team we have as members of staff, people who possess the right acumen and resilience, with deep passion and commitment to move Nigeria LNG forward. These are the people who build the company to where it is today. I am humbled to lead them today.”

In his farewell remarks, Attah, who has return to his original organisation, Shell, thanked NLNG’s staff and partners for helping them to achieve their set goals, noting that after 15 years wait, the company pressed the reset button and got the Train 7 project that is now under construction.

Attah said, “I thank the staff and our partners who helped achieve our set goals. It was a collective success. I would like to see the five years as foundational.

“Earlier, the ambition of the company was to build only two trains which was referred to as the Base Project. But we went on to build Trains 3,4,5, and 6. Then, we went into a break for 15 years. We pressed reset, released the ‘pause’ button, and got Train 7.

“But Train 7 is about the same capacity as Trains 1 and 2. For me, Train 7 is another base project, and we should go on to build other trains. I strongly believe we will.”

Also speaking at the occasion, Wike, said Nigeria needed technocrats such as Attah, conferring on him the second-highest honour in Rivers State.

He added that the former MD stood firm and made NLNG great, promising that NLNG and Rivers State would never forget him.

Wike also said Mshelbila’s tenure would achieve more, urging him to continue from where Attah stopped.

In his remarks, Daukoru, commended Attah for performing to expectation and overcoming the challenges posed by the oil price crash in 2016 and COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, amongst other vital wins.

He assured Mshelbila of the board’s unflinching support to help achieve the company’s set goals.

The Deputy Managing Director of NLNG, Mr. Sadeeq Mai-Bornu, who was represented at the occasion by Fatayi-Williams, described Attah as a visionary leader who triggered the development of key strategies to mitigate risks to the business.

He also assured Mshelbila of the commitment of the management and staff to the success of the company.

NLNG is owned by four Shareholders, namely, the Federal Government of Nigeria, represented by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) with 49 per cent, Shell Gas BV (25.6 per cent), Total Gaz Electricite Holdings France (15 per cent), and Eni International NA N. V. S.àr. l (10.4 per cent).