21 December 2014, Sweetcrude, Houston – Nigeria LNG, NLNG, the country’s liquefied natural gas exporter, has come out as the top Nigerian establishment in the latest ranking of companies in Nigeria.The league table of the country’s foremost 100 companies was recently undertaken by business development and marketing consultants, Jake Riley, in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, FMITI.
“We recognise that this achievement of being the foremost Nigerian establishment in the latest ranking also places on us the responsibility to continue to remain the model company that shows how Nigeria can generate value from its abundant human and natural resources,” said Babs Omotowa, NLNG’s Managing Director and Chief Executive.
While international oil companies, ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron took the top three spots, NLNG came fourth, leading other Nigerian companies in the blue chip listing.
Other local and international establishments that made up the top ten of the league table were Total Nigeria, MTN, Dangote Group, Oando, Eni-Agip and First Bank Nigeria Plc.
As the arrowhead of the Federal Government’s effort to end gas flaring, Nigeria LNG has successfully converted gas that would have been routinely burned off, into lucrative cargoes of liquefied natural gas, exported safely and reliably to customers in different parts of the world.
Earlier this year, NLNG paid corporate income tax (CIT) of two hundred and twenty billion naira (N220bn) to the Federal Government of Nigeria, becoming the largest corporate tax payer in the country. The amount accounts for some five per cent of the government’s revenue.
Between 1999 when the Nigeria LNG exported its first cargo and today, the company has converted about four trillion cubic feet (4Tcf) of associated gas and five trillion cubic feet (5Tcf) of non-associated gas to over 3,250 cargoes of liquefied natural gas and natural gas liquids.
It has during this span of time, paid some thirty billion dollars ($30bn) as dividend to its shareholders, which includes the Federal Government represented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), with the largest single stake of forty-nine per cent (49%).
NLNG also supplies over eighty per cent of liquefied petroleum gas, otherwise called cooking gas, to the domestic market. This has helped to bring down the price of the commodity from a zenith of N7,500 for a 12.5kg to between N2,800 and N3,500 thus changing the narrative around Nigeria’s LPG supply problems, to a story of increasing availability and affordability for the common man.
The company controls eight per cent (8%) of the global liquefied natural gas market through its reliable operation of a six production train facility with capacity for twenty-two metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) of the product. A proposed seventh train is part of Nigeria LNG’s strategic growth programme which will ramp up annual production to some 30 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa).
NLNG’s success is particularly commendable because its world-class international operations are run on a day-to-day basis by a senior management team that is one hundred per cent (100%) Nigerian.
The company’s Nigerian employees also make up more than 95% of the total workforce spread across company offices in Lagos and London, besides its headquarters in Port Harcourt and plant operational base on Bonny Island.
The companies in the top 100 according to the Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga contribute some 20 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
To rate the companies, a committee, the Top 100 Businesses Assessment Committee, headed by Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) Mr. Jim Obazee, collated and verified information from annual reports, the Financial Reporting Council, the Nigerian Stock Exchange and reports from private companies that publish revenue figures, to decide the winners.
Other members of the committee were Director-General, Industrial Training Fund, Mrs. Juliet Onaeko; Managing Director, Bank of Industries, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa; Executive Secretary, Sugar Council, Dr. Lateef Busari; Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Oscar Onyema; Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Kabir Mashi; and Managing Director, Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority, Mr. Gbenga Kuye.
Also in the committee were the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Mrs. Salatu Umar; Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo; CEO, Jake Riley Limited, Mrs. Funmi Ogbue; a Director from MITI, Bambo Kunle-Salami, and representatives of the Minister.
*NLNG press statement
