– As Train-7 project nears completion
Mkpoikana Udoma
Abuja — The Nigerian LNG Limited has announced that its flagship Train 7 project is nearing completion, a milestone that is set to expand Nigeria’s liquefied natural gas production capacity by 35 percent, positioning the country as a more dominant force in the global LNG market.
The update was given by the Deputy Managing Director of NLNG, Mr. Olakunle Osobu, during a strategic panel session at the ongoing Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, NOG2025 in Abuja, where he also revealed that over 90 percent of the contractors involved in the Train 7 project are Nigerians.
Osobu spoke during a panel session on ‘Technology As A Local Content Imperative: From Adoption To Domestication.’
He said, “Train 7 is almost completed. We have successfully built six trains earlier with lots of Nigerian contractors participating in the process, and Train 7 continues in that same tradition, driven by Nigerian expertise and commitment.”
The $5+ billion Train 7 project is being executed by the SCD JV Consortium, comprising of Saipem, Chiyoda, and Daewoo, following a Final Investment Decision, FID, taken in December 2019 and contract award in May 2020. Once operational, the project will increase NLNG’s production capacity from 22 million tonnes per annum, mtpa, to 30 mtpa, further leveraging Nigeria’s 202 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves, the ninth-largest in the world.
Osobu emphasized that the Train 7 project is not only a capacity booster for LNG exports but also a practical demonstration of Nigeria’s local content success story and technology adoption strategy.
“At NLNG, we did not only use technologies, but we adopted them in our operations. And we are working with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB, to ensure technology adoption is matched with human capital development,” he said.
According to Osobu, 70 percent of NLNG’s current contractors are Nigerians, many of whom have been trained through NCDMB-supported initiatives. He argued that Nigeria’s quest for energy and economic transformation would remain unfulfilled unless technology is domesticated in a way that is accessible to the broader population.
“Technology is very simple. All you need to know is how to read and write. But no nation has ever developed using another nation’s language. That’s why we must start writing technologies in our local languages. We have German and French keyboards, so why can’t we have Hausa or Yoruba keyboards?”
Osobu also advocated for policy reforms to mandate localization of imported technologies, insisting that true technological independence will only be achieved when Nigerians can learn, apply, and evolve technology in their own languages.
“As we continue to use technology in NLNG, we will promote and work with policymakers to domesticate the knowledge we have gathered. You don’t need a PhD to use technology. What we need is inclusive, grassroots innovation,” he added.
With Train 7 nearing completion and a renewed focus on homegrown capacity, NLNG’s roadmap signals a bold stride toward sustainable energy growth, technological independence, and broader local content impact in Nigeria’s gas sector.
SweetCrude Reports will continue to monitor developments from NOG2025.
