NLNG projects 350,000 Metric Tons of LPG annually.

Chinazor Megbolu |

The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited has projected 350,000 Metric Tons of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) by the end of 2020.

The organisation discosed that it was planning to achieve the production of 350,000 metric tons of LPG from 75,000mt it was at inception a couple of years back.

The General Manager, Production, NLNG, Mr. Adeleye Falade, who disclosed this during a webinar organised by ADIPEC Energy Dialogue, noted that the country has huge gas reserves that must be taken advantage of for quick industrialisation and cleaner energy.

According to him; “when we first started pushing Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) which is cooking gas into the Nigerian market, we were only doing 75,000 tons per annum. Today, as at last year, we did 275, 000 tons that we pushed into the market.

“This year our target is 350,000 tons and we are very much on our way to achieving it. The more we push cooking gas, the more we fight deforestation and deal with emission, especially harmful ones”.

Falade pointed out that the opportunities in the gas industry is huge and instead of being seen as an oil country, the nation addressed as a gas nation with some quantity of oil in it.

Falade noted that Africa as a continent can boast of about 20 per cent of world population, but utilises just five per cent of global electricity.

“With a proven natural gas volume estimated at six trillion cubit feet and gigantic discoveries in Mozambique, Tanzania, Mauritania and other African countries, the continent has enough gas to supply about two third of the world energy demand for 20 years.

“And Nigeria has a big role to play with 200 cubit feet of proven reserve, Nigeria is now number nine and has the potential to be number four because 600 cubit feet still exists in the ground which has not been taken through the accounting process”.

Falade further maintained that Train 7, if completed, will raise the organisation’s production capacity by 35 per cent from the current 22 million tons to about 30 million tons per annum and will increase foreign direct investment by $7 billion in five years.

“Currently, our six plants are giving huge revenues to government in taxes. We have paid about $8 billion as well as dividends of about $36 billion has been paid to NLNG shareholders of which NNPC which represents the government earns 49 per cent.

“With the addition of train 7, and increase in production capacity, NLNG will stand a chance to maintain its position as the sixth major supplier of LNG globally, otherwise the company will recede because there are other people that are all increasing their volume.

“With train 7, we see the creation of over 12,000 jobs directly and 40,000 indirect ones , especially at the construction phase and this will attract foreign direct investment to Nigeria in the upstream sector and other associated projects that are coming on stream,” Falade said.