Mkpoikana Udoma
23 November 2018, Sweetcrude, Port Harcourt — The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, NLNG, Tony Attah, on Thursday, said the company is 100 percent committed to its Train 7 project that will be delivered with the involvement of competent Nigerian companies.
The NLNG boss made this known at a Public Workshop on Nigerian Content for NLNG’s Train 7 Development in Port Harcourt, targeted at giving Nigerian companies information on how Nigerian Content can be maximised in NLNG Train 7 project.
Attah said the workshop is the third held by the company in its bid to ensure Nigerian companies and the Nigerian economy derive maximum value from its Train 7 project.
He explained that the project, valued at over $4 billion, is expected to commence as soon as a Final Investment Decision (FID) is taken.
Tony Attah, said “NLNG is underpinned by its vision of being ‘a global LNG company helping to build a better Nigeria’. The global play is about the business itself and helping to build a better Nigeria is consistent with our partnership with NCDMB.
“I will like to invite Nigerian companies to please participate in Train 7, which is the purpose of this workshop.
“It is consistent with our partnership with NCDMB. It also opens up the opportunities for local companies to play, starting with understanding the scope of the project.
“In addition, it creates an opportunity to meet the two consortia we are currently working with, B7 JV and SCD JV. They are the key players tasked with the Front End Engineering Design (FEED),” he added.
The NLNG boss also announced that the company is at the forefront of deliberate efforts towards eliminating gas flaring in Nigeria.
The NLNG boss also disclosed that the company has created a system that will re-utilise gases that would have otherwise been flared, noting that his organisation was already reducing gas flaring in the country by more than 65 percent.
“We (NLNG) are the catalyst for eliminating gas flaring in Nigeria. Because of NLNG’s existence, we have created the sync for the gas which otherwise should have been flared to be gathered. We have helped to reduce gas flaring by more than 65percent.”
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote commended NLNG for organising the workshop in Port Harcourt after being held in Bonny and Abuja, said it shows the sense of responsibility of the company to ensure that all stakeholders are taken on-board and are informed about the various opportunities in the project.
Wabote said the workshop goes to show that there are adequate information and communication, adding that strategy has been put in place to ensure that all upcoming opportunities are well communicated to all stakeholders at all levels.
“I share the sentiments with the NLNG MD on the 30 years anniversary of the company and 20 years anniversary in operation. You hardly have businesses that survive for that long apart from businesses that are well run.
“NLNG has paid back the loans they took to build the plant and now it now sees more opportunities and seeks further investment. This is a good thing,” he added.
The NCDMB boss further explained that the public workshop on Train 7 has two objectives; the first is to sensitize interested stakeholders to the upcoming Nigerian Content opportunities in the project.
The second objective, according to Wabote, is to create to a platform for identification of local supply chain capacities and capabilities that are available in-country.
“It is very important to have clarity of what local content is about. Local content is not Corporate Social Responsibility. It is not a favour that a company does to a country or a people. It is purely business. It is about giving local companies an opportunity to deliver value through the value chain.
“As we go into the development of NLNG’s Train 7 project, we believe it will bring about opportunities for utilising local goods and services in addition to affording local companies the prospect to enhance their capacities and capabilities.
“We expect that the train 7 project will provide a platform to expand existing businesses and create opportunities for new businesses like in the cryogenic space as we push the boundaries of local capabilities.”