NNPC to support NLNG quest to become global LNG choice company 

Mele Kyari, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), said the national oil company is truly committed to supporting the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited rise to achieve its goal of becoming a global LNG company of choice.

NNPC is the principal shareholder of NLNG with a 49 percent stake held on behalf of the Nigerian federal government.

Kyari, represented as a guest of honour by NNPC’s group general manager, LNG investment management services (LIMS), Nike Kolawole, at the 2021 NLNG health safety and environment (HSE) day, said HSE was a critical determinant of business performance success across the oil and gas industry.

NLNG, a gas liquefaction company, is an incorporated joint venture (JV) owned by four shareholders, namely, the federal government of Nigeria, represented by NNPC (49%), Shell Gas B.V.  (25.6%), Total Gaz Electricité Holdings France (15%), and Eni International N.A. N.V. S.àr.l (10.4%). The company is currently building its Train 7 at the cost of $7 billion, with Saipem of Milan, Italy as core investor, contributing $2.7 billion.

The gas company in May this year commissioned its headquarters building in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. It is a four-storey complex with cluster buildings occupying 76,000 square metres of land and equipped with one boardroom, 121 office spaces, 51 meeting and huddle rooms, smart and ergonomic workstations, a library, a press centre and a creche.

Since its establishment about 20 years ago – it has generated $114 billion in revenues, paid $9 billion in taxes; $18 billion in dividends to the Nigerian federal government and $15 billion in feed gas purchase. Many say these are commendable accomplishments by the company’s 100 percent Nigerian management team.

Kyari stated that as a principal shareholder in the company, NNPC would continue to ensure that NLNG placed more emphasis on HSE, stressing that “no matter the figures, indices or values recorded in production, sales, profit or revenue, a dismal HSE performance would lead to obliteration of long built achievement”.

He remarked that the rapid growth of NLNG from the base project (Trains 1 and 2) to six trains was unprecedented and commended the company for its ability to adapt and effectively manage changes within the period.

“Central to the world-class excellent record is the company’s unprecedented HSE culture, placing priority on safety performance ahead of other performance indices. Your consistent emphasis on human performance principles through Goal Zero deserves applause,” he said.

Outgoing managing director of NLNG, Tony Attah, who completed his tenure at the company, and returns to Shell, said the focus of this year’s HSE day was on identifying the weak and dark corners for continuous improvement on the organization’s HSE policy.