Ike Amos
30 August 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja — Greenville Oil and Gas Limited, Tuesday, said it would invest a total $850 million in the construction of a mini-Liquefied Natural Gas facility in Nigeria.
Speaking during the signing of a Gas Sale and Aggregation Agreement with the Federal and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation/Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Joint Venture, Chairman of Greenville, Mr. Eddy Van Den Broeke, said the plant to be situated in Rumuoji, Rivers State, would commence with three trains and would commence with a capacity of 2,200 metric tonnes.
He said the firm has decided to invest in the first three mini-LNG plants in Africa, adding that the big challenge today is that no bank is available to finance the investment because of the temporary problems that Nigeria is going through.
He said, “We have taken the bold step in saying this country will come back in the next two or three years with the revolution that is going in the country and development of more agriculture. It will allow Nigeria to get back to a stronger financial position again. Our project is done with Total Gas, local gas coming from Obite. That means no need for foreign exchange.”
He said the total outlay of the investment is around $500 million in the first phase, and plans to increase it to about $850 million, completely on equity without any bank financing.
“We hope that in the second phase, as the minister has said today, more assistance will be given once the people see the investment and once the product come to the market, automatically there will be confidence and we have to build the confidence,” he added.
He explained that given the opportunity, the company would supply gas to the NNPC headquarters, National Assembly complex and the Presidential Villa among others, to ensure stable power supply in these complexes.
He said, “When it comes on stream, the project would create about 1,000 direct jobs and 5,000 indirect jobs, while it would also stop the depletion of the country’s foreign exchange reserve, help in preserving the environment and help revive the economy of Nigeria.”
Also speaking, Managing Director of the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria, Mr. Morgan Okwuche, stated that in the In the statutory discharge of its responsibilities, GACN issued a Gas Purchase order (GPO) to TEPNG JV and Greenville on 27th November 2014 for gas supply of 74 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscf/d) to the phase-1 of Greenville’s Mini-LNG plant in Rumuoji. Rivers State.
He said, “The execution of this Agreement today, the 29th of August, 2017 will usher in the era of virtual pipelines in Nigeria. The Virtual pipeline system is coming at a time when the traditional pipeline system has become endangered, due to incessant pipeline vandalism and other daunting challenges faced in the country today.
“Greenvilie will transport the products with specialized LNG trucks, which have the capacity to travel about 1,000km on LNG before re-fueling. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is Lighter, Cheaper and safer when compared to AGO and will as such have less impact on Nigerian Roads during transportation to the locations of their various Customers.”
