Tinubu Urges NLNG to Turn Gas Flaring into Economic Benefit
Tinubu made the call on Wednesday at the State House, Abuja, when he received members of the NLNG Board led by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Adeleye Falade.
The President said while the company was making progress in expanding its capacity and increasing revenue, greater attention should be paid to domestic utilisation of Nigeria’s gas resources.
““My major concern is the domestic utilisation, where you must be able to take out the flaring and convert potential environmental liability to what could be strategically and economically beneficial to the consumers in the country,” he said.
Tinubu commended the NLNG management for maximising the company’s capacity and ensuring good returns on investment, assuring the board that his administration would provide necessary incentives to support further growth and expansion.
He said Nigeria’s natural resources would have little value to the economy unless they were developed and utilised to improve the lives of citizens.
“Whatever asset that we have in the ground is nothing unless it’s brought up to service the economy, the people, and realisation of a good return on investment,” Tinubu said.
The President also stressed the need to domesticate some energy requirements and develop pricing mechanisms that would make energy more accessible to ordinary Nigerians.
Earlier, Falade told the President that NLNG had generated more than $150bn since inception, with its shareholders, including the Nigerian government, receiving about $47bn in dividends. Nigeria owns a 49 per cent stake in the company.
According to Falade, NLNG had previously operated at about 60 per cent capacity because of insufficient crude oil production, which limited the company to four of its six available production trains.
He, however, said increased crude oil production following developments in the oil and gas sector had enabled NLNG to raise its utilisation to five trains, with further improvements expected.
Falade said the company was also looking forward to the inauguration of Train Seven, which he said would increase NLNG’s capacity by 35 per cent.
He added that NLNG currently accounts for about five per cent of the global LNG market.
The NLNG boss further disclosed that all the company’s liquefied petroleum gas, commonly known as cooking gas, was currently being supplied to the domestic market.
Falade said shareholders had commended the stability in Nigeria’s fiscal environment, noting that it was helping to attract further investments into the oil and gas sector.
He also commended security agencies and industry regulators for contributing to the stability recorded in the sector.
The NLNG chief executive also informed Tinubu that the Bonny-Bodo Road and Bridge project, financed by NLNG, had been completed and was awaiting official commissioning.
The NLNG delegation included Deputy Managing Director Olakunle Osobu; Board Director and Managing Director of TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited, Matthieu Bouyer; Board Director, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Nigeria Agip Exploration, Maurizio Pinna; and General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Sophia Horsfall.
Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Energy Transition Yasmin Mohammed also attended the meeting.
