President Bola Tinubu says
he will support the development of the country’s first floating liquefied
natural gas (FLNG) facility.
Tinubu gave the assurance when he
received a group of joint venture (JV) partners, led by Julius Rone, group
managing director of UTM FLNG, at the presidential villa, Abuja.
The delegates were accompanied by
Emmanuella Blatmann, ambassador of France to Nigeria, and Hiromi Otuski, deputy
ambassador for Japan to Nigeria.
UTM FLNG Limited, a subsidiary of UTM Offshore Ltd, is a special-purpose vehicle created to actualise the project.
The $5 billion FLNG project is
expected to create 7,000 jobs and is set to commence in the fourth quarter (Q4)
of 2026.
Speaking to journalists after the
meeting, Rone said Tinubu directed them to contact him through Femi
Gbajabiamila, his chief of staff, if they experienced any obstacles that might
threaten the project’s completion deadline.
“We are developing the first floating
LNG in Nigeria in conjunction with the Nigeria National Petroleum Company
(NNPC). This is the first time an indigenous company from Africa is taking on
such projects. We have just gotten one of the best days in our transaction,” he
said
“Mr. president has given us all the
assurances and full support for this project. For us, we’re excited because Mr.
president spoke very highly of the need to develop our gas resources and he
believes in the floating LNG technology. And he assured us that there will be
no stones left for us to deliver this project as planned and scheduled.
“So, we are happy that we secured Mr.
president’s support for this project. And he assured us that anything that we
will require to get this project off the ground, he will definitely give us 110
percent and my colleagues here can testify to that assurance that we got from
Mr. president.
“Mr. president said there is no
obstacle to hinder the delivery of this project. That we will have this project
delivered is a must, not if we want to do it.”
Speaking on the capacity of the FLNG,
Rone said the facility targets to increase the national economy by producing an
annual 1.5 million tonnes of LNG for export as well as 300,000 LPG metric
tonnes for the domestic market.
He explained that the FLNG facility
will be anchored offshore in Akwa Ibom state in about 60 meters of water depth.
“When completed in Q4 2026, the
facility will produce on an annual basis, 1.5 million tonnes of LNG for export,
300,000 metric tonnes of LPG for domestic market (DLPG), and some quantities of
condensate,” Rone said.
“[The] 300,000 metric tonnes of LPG
production which will be dedicated to domestic market (DLPG), represents 25
percent of national demand and will go a long way at stabilising the price of
cooking gas in addition to its possible use for autogas and other industrial
purposes among others.
“Moreover, about 3,000 direct jobs and
4,000 indirect jobs will be generated in addition to value creation along the
LPG supply chain.
Rone added that Afreximbank is
facilitating the financing of the project.
Credit- The Cable
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