Deputy managing director of Nigeria LNG Limited Sadeeq Mai-Bornu on Tuesday reiterated his company’s commitment to Nigeria by stating that 70% of its profit goes to the country.
Mr Mai-Bornu spoke at the 2020 NLNG/Business Day Conference on Gas sponsored by the company.
Represented by the general manager, external relations and sustainable development Mrs Eyono Fatayi-Williams, the deputy managing director spoke on the theme “Harnessing Nigeria’s Energy Potential for the Future.”
As Nigeria prepares to celebrate the diamond anniversary of its independence, Mai-Bornu said the conference reminded his audience “that a little over 60 years ago, similar conversations gave rise to the dream to set up Nigeria LNG to harness the nation’s abundant natural gas resources and to reduce associated gas flares in the Niger Delta and monetise the resource.”
That conversation, he said, remained a dream until 31 years ago, precisely in May 1989, when Nigeria LNG was incorporated, marking a significant milestone in the nation’s energy sector.
“The future envisaged at that time is our current reality today and Nigeria LNG has actualised the objectives. Since we started operations in 1999, NLNG has delivered over 5000 LNG cargoes to various destinations globally and generated about USD110 billion in revenue,” he said.
Listing some of the remarkable achievements of NLNG, he said: “Last year alone, we achieved plant reliability at a record 98.4% and a production record of 316 LNG cargoes, 32 LPG and 24 Condensate cargoes, essentially exporting at least a cargo every day down the Bonny River.
“To-date, Nigeria LNG has converted about 6.8Tcf of Associated Gas to Liquefied Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids, thus contributing to reduction of gas flaring by upstream companies from over 60% before we commenced operations to less than 20% currently. We also set up a conservation area, the Finima Nature Park in Bonny Island, an area of about 1,000 hectares that acts as a carbon sink in pursuit for a cleaner environment underpinned by our strong focus on safety Goal Zero which demands zero harm to people, zero harm to the environment and zero harm to our facilities.
“In 2007, in continuous demonstration of our commitment to the vision of “helping to build a better Nigeria”, NLNG intervened in the domestic LPG market and today we are committed to delivering 350,000 metric tons of LPG annually to the domestic market to ensure the availability, reliability and affordability of the commodity in the country. This intervention is NLNG’s contribution towards the conservation of the environment and the elimination of health challenges attributed to smoke inhalation from cooking with hazardous fuels which adversely impacts the health of mostly women and children. This way, we are contributing to a healthier society.”
According to records, NLNG is a major revenue earner for the nation.
“Over 70% of NLNG’s profit goes to Nigeria, via NNPC through dividends, and Company Income Tax. Other taxes that NLNG pays include VAT and Education Tax. NNPC also gets 55-60 per cent of the feed gas purchase revenue through its participating interest in the upstream JVs.
“Our Train 7 expansion project, when completed and operational, will add about 35% capacity to our extant 22mtpa plant which should continue to place Nigeria as a gas nation and NLNG as a major supplier of LNG globally,” he added.
In spite of challenges like under-investment in gas exploration, appraisal and development activities; lack of a sustainable commercial framework for gas supply and the need to provide more security for the protection of oil and gas assets, the company remains committed to its host community and Nigeria at large.
“On Bonny Island in Rivers State where the plant is located, NLNG is working towards making Bonny Island Nigeria’s first malaria-free city through our Malaria Rollback programme and our sterling Community Health Insurance programme which we are driving in partnership with the state government, to ensure access to quality healthcare for residents of the Island.
“NLNG is also co-financing, with the Federal Government NGN120 billion ($315million) Bonny-Bodo Road project to connect Bonny Island to the mainland.
“More recently, as part of the Oil and Gas Industry Collaborative Initiative spearheaded by NNPC to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria LNG sponsored the donation of medical equipment and consumables worth over $4m to our host state, Rivers State, Lagos State, Bayelsa State, Akwa Ibom and Adamawa states,” he said.
With 2020 declared the “Year of Gas”, NLNG, he concluded, “is leading the conversation for expansion of the sector with the award of the Train 7 EPC Contract to Saipem Chiyoda and Daewoo (SCD) JV and the JV is now in the driving seat for the execution phase to deliver Train 7.”
