Rahma Ahmed
By Ahmed Rahma
The Nigerian LNG (NLNG) has stated that the LNG Train-7 will attract about $10 billion into Nigeria’s economy and provide 12,000 people with jobs.
The Managing Director of NLNG, Mr Tony Attah, said this can be achieved because Nigeria is blessed with enough gas, which he said was becoming the next oil, noting that all that is required is to explore the natural resources for the benefit of the country.
Speaking at the Nigeria International Petroleum Summit (NIPS) Pre-Summit Conference tagged The Decade of Gas, Mr Attah said, “This is a great opportunity for Nigeria” to earn more revenue from gas.
He lauded the determination of the federal government to utilise gas for economic development, noting that the decision to declare January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2030, as The Decade of Gas Development for Nigeria was a step in the right direction.
“Nigeria is blessed with plenty of gas reserves – 200tcf of proven reserves and an additional 600tcf scope to be proven by SEC rules. Proving the 600tcf will move us to number four in the world from the current 9th position which I believe should be a key objective for this decade of gas agenda,” he said.
He added that, “Essentially, Nigeria is a gas nation as we have more gas than oil on a BoE basis. Nigeria currently plays a significant role in the global energy sector, holding the position of the largest oil and gas producer in Africa and the sixth supplier of global LNG through the operations of Nigeria LNG Limited.
“Our Train 7 project alone will attract about $10 billion into the country with significant revenue generation for the government and our shareholders, but also over 12,000 jobs opportunity for Nigerians.”
Mr Attah stated further that, “This is a decade of gas, another decade of sustained operations in Nigeria LNG, a decade of Train 7 and perhaps Trains 8,9 and 10;a decade of elimination of gas flaring, a decade of more Domestic LPG in households in Nigeria and overall, a decade of a fully gas-powered economy.
“As I stated at the beginning, this will require solid collaborative effort, and the active participation of all stakeholders, including the National Assembly currently working the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
“The PIB holds the ace to be one of the biggest opportunities for our gas future as a nation and we should not miss this window. Gas is Power and Energy. Gas is Transport- as in AutoGas. Gas is Petrochemicals- feedstock. Gas is Food from fertilisers.”
“Matter of fact Gas is everything for Nigeria. We must use what we have to get what we want. Saudi Arabia and Dubai used Oil to move their economies to become one of the best in the world; Qatar has used GAS to transform from a fishing economy to becoming a global gas giant.
“However, Nigeria has thus far ridden on the back of oil for over 50 years, but the time has come for Nigeria to fly on the wings of gas – at Nigeria LNG, we believe it is time for gas,” he added.
