Plans by shareholders of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas NLNG Limited to reach a Final Investment Decision FID on the company’s Train-7 project by December will not be affected by the vagaries of the 2019 general election atmosphere, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has assured.
Kachikwu gave the assurance at the weekend when he visited the Bonny Island base of the NLNG, which currently produces 22 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, with plans to invest about $7 billion on the Train-7 project to expand its production capacity to 30mtpa.
He also said the government might ask the NLNG to help get too delayed LNG projects in the country – the 10mtpa BrassLNG and 20mtpa Olokola LNG – off the ground through either minimal investment or expert advice. He noted that this was in line with the country’s plan to expand its LNG market share.
According to NLNG’s shareholding structure, the Nigerian government through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC owns 49 per cent of its shares; Shell Gas B.V. has 25.6 per cent; Total Gaz Electricite Holdings France, 15 per cent; and Eni International, 10.4 per cent. The company also recently signed agreements with a consortia to embark on Front End Engineering Design (FEED) for the Train-7 ahead of the December FID.
Speaking after his tour of the plant, Kachikwu indicated that Nigeria’s 2019 elections would not interfere with the company’s expansion plan, and that whatever happened at the polls, FID on Train-7 as well as its construction would go ahead.