NNPC, NCDMB partner others on methanol project

Chinazor Megbolu       |.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) have partnered with Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company Limited and DSV Engineering for the construction of 10,000 per day methanol plant and a gas processing plant.

The Memorandum of Understanding was jointly signed  by the Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, NNPC, Mr. Usman Yusuf, the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Mr. Simbi Wabote and the Managing Director of BFPCL, Chief Ben Okoye, on behalf of their respective organisations in Abuja.

The MoU showed that the 500 million standard cubic feet per day gas processing plant will be sited in Odeama, Brass, Bayelsa State.

It further indicated the first agreement was the Accession Agreement between BFPCL, DSV Engineering, NNPC and the NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company Limited by Guarantee.

The signing also stated that NCDMB has subscribed to the terms and conditions contained in the company’s share subscription agreement.

The second agreement was the Share Subscription Agreement among BFPCL, DSV Engineering and the NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company Limited by Guarantee.

In the MoU, the allotment of 18 per cent authorised share capital of Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company Limited to NCDMB.

In his remarks, Wabote hinted that there’s need for indigenous institutions and companies to initiate projects that would create value for the country and employment opportunities for young Nigerians.

He added that the Nigerian oil and gas sector could not continue to wait for international operating oil and gas companies to lead project development as well as maintain that creating job opportunities for young Nigerians was the best strategy to curtail restiveness and insecurity in the country.

Wabote also buttressed that the methanol project provides opportunities to add value in-country and further diversify the utilisation of the nation’s gas resources, saying that the 10,000 tonnes per day methanol plant will, upon completion, bring Nigeria onto the world map as one of the top 10 producers of methanol.

“The opportunities provided by this project in jobs creation, gas utilisation, and local availability of methanol for primary and secondary users, are massive and we are excited to catalyze the realisation of the project,” he said.

He posited that the project would create 15,000 employment opportunities during the construction stage and additional 5,000 jobs during the operations phase.

Wabote pointed out that methanol can be used for different purposes and can also serve as a key chemical agent in pharmaceutical and agro-chemical industries.

He lauded the NNPC for its vital role in getting the project to the current stage, expressing hope that the partnership would help to drive the methanol plant to completion.

Meanwhile, Yusuf on his part, noted  that the project was in sync with President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent declaration of a decade of gas, which would help to correct the current anomaly whereby 100 per cent of the nation’s methanol needs are currently imported.

He assured that gas was becoming very important to the nation’s sustainability and would also play a key role in the energy transition.

He, however, averred that the two methanol projects would help the country save foreign exchange and significantly enhance local production.

Yusuf used the opportunity to thank the NCDMB for supporting the methanol projects, which would create a gas hub, petrochemical industry fertilizer plants and condensate refinery.