Nigeria LNG generates $108bn from sales of gas in 21 years

Chinazor Megbolu | The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) has said it generated $108 billion from gas sales through the delivery of 5,000 cargoes to its customers globally in the last 21 years of its operations.

The General Manager, External Relations, NLNG, Mrs. Eyono Fatayi-Williams, in Abuja, disclosed this when she appeared before the House Committee on Gas Resources, adding that between 1989 and 2019, the NLNG was incorporated and became a limited liability company with four shareholders.

She noted that the representatives of the Federal Government, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has 49 per cent shares while Agip, Shell and Total have 51 per cent shares.

Fatayi-Williams explained that from 1999, the first cargo sailed from Bonny Island in Rivers State to France, which put the NLNG on the map as an operational organisation.

She claimed that the company was recognised by a national newspaper , an award she said was later revalidated internationally at the LNG summit where NLNG was given an award for the company that had made the most outstanding contribution to the LNG industry.

“We buy gas, we liquefy it; we transport it and sell it to the buyers and get value for Nigeria LNG and for Nigeria.

“In the 21 years we have operated, we have delivered 5,000 LNG cargoes around the world and we have 23 dedicated LNG ships to ensure our operation runs smoothly.

“On Bonny Island, we have six installed and operation LNG trains – the train is also known as LNG manufacturing line – of 22 million tonnes capacity.

“Our installed asset is $11 billion; today we have generated $108 billion in revenue since inception and have delivered $35 billion in dividends to the shareholders in the 21 years that we have operated and have paid $8 billion in taxes,” Fatayi-Williams said.

She explained further that when crude oil exploration was at infant stage, 65 per cent of gas was flared, but right now, less than 12 per cent of the gas, produced with crude is flared.

Fatayi-Williams buttressed that the country is rated 9th in the world with 200 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) of proven gas reserves presently.

“The 600 TCF of unproven gas reserves, if monetised, will make Nigeria the fourth globally in the ranking order of proven gas reserves in the world,” she said.

Fatayi-Williams also averred that there is an opportunity for Nigeria to go higher in the ranking of the use of cleaner energy.

She further stated that over 470,000 persons die from firewood smoke in five years, adding that according to World Bank data, about a 100,000 Nigerians die annually due to firewood smoke inhalation and related complications mostly women and children.

“If you compare this with the number of people who have died of Covid-19 complication, which is less than 2,000 as reported by NCDC, very little is said about the 100,000 who die of firewood and smoke.

“The use of firewood is a double-edged sword; it is not only leading to a significant number of death, we also know that cutting timber for firewood leads to deforestation, which later leads to desertification,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director, NLNG, Mr. Tony Attah, in his address during the event said: “Today we have about seven billion, so it is like adding one new India and China to the world; where will the energy come from?

“So there is that dilemma, the world will need more energy, it needs it clean and cheaper and gas has offered itself not only as a transition fuel but also a destination fuel.

“We see gas as food because of its role in fertilizer production, we see gas as employment, we see gas as an industry, power and transport as most countries have trains and cars running on gas”.