The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NLNG

  • Forces against writing

    Forces against writing

    All is set for this year’s edition of the NLNG Prize for Literature. Eleven Nigerian authors are gunning for the $100,000 prize money. The literati and book lovers met with the shortlisted authors in Lagos at the CORA Book Party. It was a dramatic feast of sorts, reports Evelyn Osagie.

    Writers have been urged to revisit the works of their old and established counterparts to get inspiration in addressing the country’s socio-cultural and political problems.

    Citing religious and ethnic upheavals, ace actress, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett advised writers to address themes that highlight contemporary issues, particularly peace and love, in their works.

    Writers, she said, should tackle the “issue of love” from political, religious, socio-cultural angles, saying it would curb violence.

    “There is nothing utopian about love. In fact, the fundamental thing wrong in our society is that we do not love one another. It is the intellectuals that galvanise our people, working on their collective consciousness. Writers should think about,” she said.

    Hers was one of the submissions at CORA’s book party held at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos in honour of the initial shortlisted authors of the Nigeria Literature Prize sponsored by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited. It drew the literati, publishers, booksellers and booklovers from within and outside Lagos.

    The playwrights and their works that were on the spotlight at CORA’s book fiesta include: John Friday Abba – Alekwu Night Dance; Patrick Ogbe Adaofuyi – Canterkerous Passengers; Soji Cole – Maybe Tomorrow; Paul Edema – A Plague of Gadflies; Jude Idada – Oduduwa, King of the Edos; Onshore Ruth Momodu – No Fault of Mine; Attah Isaac Ogezi – Under a Darkling Sky; Julie Okoh – Our Wife Forever; Ade Solanke – Pandora’s Box; Arnold Udoka – Akon and Sam Ukala – Iredi War.

    After two months of intensive scrutiny, the list of 11 playwrights was drawn from a total of 124 entries by the panel of judges, including Professor of Theatre and Drama and Vice-Chancellor, Benue State University, Prof Charity Angya; a past laureate of the prize and Professor of Theatre Arts, Prof Ahmed Yerima and Professor of Performing Arts, Akanji Nasiru.

    They are contesting keenly for the $100, 000 prize. The yearly prize rotates among four literary genres – prose fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature. This year’s focus is drama; and the sponsor’s say the final shortlist of three playwrights will be announced in September, and the winner of the $100,000 prize in October.

    Its previous winners include Prof Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo (2007) for children’s literature; Chika Unigwe (2012) for prose fiction and Tade Ipadeola (2013) for poetry.

    For CORA, the authors whose works make the prize’s initial shortlist are winners in their own rights. And the yearly book party, which offered guests the opportunity to interact with the celebrators, was a way of honouring them.

    The event was incisive, educative and fun-filled, blending of book readings discussions, poetry and musical performances with assorted food and drinks.

    This year’s had an added spice – the audience were able to interact with nominees based abroad via online conferencing.

    According to CORA Secretary-General, Toyin Akinosho, the feast is part of the foundation’s intervention in spreading the word about The Nigerian Book. He said “It’s one of our several outreach programmes for the book (including Book Trek in Secondary Schools and Publishers Forum).”

    In fact, on the part of CORA’s Programme Chair, Jahman Anikulapo, it is out to enlarge Nigerian reading population. “We find ourselves in the vanguard of expanding the membership of the community of booklovers. This party is one of the several events we organise to make books look cool,” he said.

    Indeed the “Word” took centre stage and was served fresh and raw to the audience as the shortlisted playwrights and Nollywood celebrities celebrities read from their works and interacted with booklovers.

    There were several poetic and dramatic performances as well as music.

    And as charging the celebrators to honour their “covenants as writers”, poet and journalist Akeem Lasisi’s poetic renditions: “…You kept your words like the delicate egg…you have honoured your covenant with the musing drive…” reaffirmed the importance of the “Word” and the writer’s role as a conscience of society.

    Celebrated scholar Dr Esohe Molokwu re-echoed Ajai-Lycett and Akeem’s words, urging the celebrators, thus: “Use your work to change society; dramatists have the power to change society”.

    According to NLNG General Manager, External Affairs, Mr Kudo Eresia-Eke, the prize was established by his company as part of its corporate citizenship programme and commitment to the development of Nigerian society, adding that there has been progressive improvement in the quality of works entered and the competition is getting “sweeter and stiffer”.

    He said: “We have seen continuous improvement in the quality of works, whether you call it poetry, drama, prose or children literature. The quality of works that come in every sense, the creativity of the stories, the manner in which they are expressed – the expressionism that we see, we can really say that people are gearing up even more to do better works. And African Literature is the greater beneficiary.”

    On the part of shortlisted writers, it was a privilege to be on the initial shortlist, and the event, a welcomed initiative. However, for most of them, writing is beyond winning a prize but more of “affecting lives”. They decried their plights of creative writers, calling for better support and infrastructure to encourage budding ones.

    “Many things militate against the health of writing in the country. How healthy is our society? These rub off on writers. What kind of encouragement do we have as writers?” Prof Ukala said. While making a case for playwrights, he said: a teacher of drama, saying: “Why not drama? As a professor who teaches drama, if I don’t write plays upon what basis would I be teaching?”

    The hilarious twist of the evening came towards the end when the moderator, Mr Deji Toye threw questions to the authors. “Do you think you stand a chance of winning the prize?” he asked.

    “If I am given the prize, the critics would not be disappointed,” Ogezi said, drawing laughter from the audience; while on Abba’s part, “It is not a fair question”. “I have stood on the shoulders of many great shoulders; whether I have seen far enough, standing on those shoulders, is left to the judges to decide. Am I going to win, I don’t know,” he said.

  • A resounding party for playwriting

    A resounding party for playwriting

    Last Sunday artistes gathered in Lagos under the aegis of Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) to celebrate, interact and rub minds with the 11 initial longlist for the Nigerian Prize for Literature for 2014. Edozie Udeze reports

    Almost everybody, including the authors and other artists agreed that the Nigerian literary scene is ever alive, bubbling with issues and awash with events that also enable writers to produce sound and convincing works. The outing was the 6th annual book party of the Committee For Relevant Art (CORA) The event was put together for the initial eleven long listed names for the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) prize for literature for 2014. It was an occasion to interact with these writers who emerged out of the 124 authors that submitted their works for consideration.

    The authors and their works include, John Abba (Alekun Night Dance), Patrick Agbe Adaofuyi (Canterkerous Passengers), Soji Cole (Maybe Tomorrow), Paul Edema (A Plague of Gadflies), Jude Idada (Oduduwa, King of the Edos), Ruth Momodu (No Fault of Mine), Isaac Ogezi (Under a Darkling Sky), Julie Oko  (Our Wife Forever), Ade Solanke (Pandora’s Box), Arnold Udoka (Akon( and Sam Ukala (|Iredi War). All the plays also highlighted the numerous problems that have, in the recent times, plagued the nation called Nigeria.   While some of the authors concentrated on social and family ills, others went more political and historical, hitting on the core problems that have been the main draw-back for the society.

    Even though it was only four out of the eleven authors that were physically present, it did not, however, remove the shine from the show. Both Solanke and Momodu who live in the United Kingdom and Idada who plies his trade in Canada spoke online. They were able to bring out the issues that shaped their works and what, in the initial beginning, informed the ideas that made their plays.

    At 17years, Momodu whose work  is entitled No Fault of Mine and who obviously is the youngest candidate in the history of the prize told of how she dwelt on the issue of what she described as a “dysfunctional Nigerian family. It is a family where father and mother could not agree on the requisite values necessary to bring up their daughter. The girl grew up into a terrible character that was not of her own making.” Momodu, however, conceded that over there in England, Nigerian Diaspora are ever active, eager to be in touch with people at home. “Their habitual tendencies, more or less, encourage Nigerian and African writers to have materials for their works,” she posited. “But we need to do more interesting works that would tend to get the youths off the internet. This is one of our primary roles as writers”, she said.

    On her own part, Solanke decided that one of the steps to make plays permeate the society is when the audience flow along with the issues raised in the work. “All over England and Europe, Afrobeat music has become the rave. The youths of Africa in the Diaspora now identify with it; they play it and spread the message among the people. The role of a writer is to look into these trends and bring out the Nigerian literature inherent in them.” To her, experience and contemporary Nigerian cultural values, what the people themselves see in what they have; all help to shape the story ideas of a writer.

    But Idada’s own concept while reporting from Canada in that there are plenty of Nigerian stories waiting to be told. “We try to make the impossible possible through what we write. It is our responsibility to react to what people do, what the society is all about; whether here in Canada where we have plenty of Nigerian Diaspora or in Nigeria where the stories happen aplenty. Publishers also have a role to play in this contemporary arrangement. But we as writers have to first of all fulfill over own responsibilities by writing well and polishing our works. That indeed is what the NLNG is doing; helping us to polish our works so that what we push out into the society is not makeshift or half baked or even bellow standard”.

    In an interview, Abba confessed that his own work is unique in many respects because “I do not follow convention when I pick my pen to write. I am very unconventional in my style of writing. And when I depict life I also depict what it portends. This is my first published play and what I raised in the story of Alekwu Night Dance, it is a story of a young girl raped in questionable circumstance and this led the whole village to begin to query the level of morality within the vicinity.”

    He explored the story to paint sordid picture of a society in a terrible moral state. The girl was an only child, a gifted child in whom the parents had a lot of hope and prospects. The sorrows of both the parents and the entire village thus invoked a spirit of torture and perpetual agony on the head of the culprit. “This rapist will sleep no more; peace will ever elude him for he has indeed murdered sleep by puncturing the life of a promising girl-child.”

    As the issues and the themes raised by the playwrights continued to seep into the people, Ukala, a professor of Theatre and one of those on the longlist intoned: “The Eredi War, being the title of my own work happened in 1906 in Delta State. It is a true life story and the mess put in place by the colonial overlords to overwhelm the local people. In that mess some of the local people became collaborators and helped the white people to mess their people up.

    The motive behind this was to denigrate the people and their culture. There was no regard for the constituted authority. All the people, including the king of the town, were compelled and ordered to obey His majesty, King Edward VII of England. “In the process, the king of the town was arrested but the people did not forget to remind their tormentors that the little bird dancing on the road has drummers beating for it by the bush side. Therefore, my business, my professional calling as a teacher of Theatre is to be versatile, totally versed in the art of literature to be able to impact well on the society. People keep asking me, why drama? But my answer is that I have written prose fiction before and won an award in that genre. I have also written poetry and won an award but here I am now completely immersed in drama. I am a total literary person. If I do not write drama, if I do not get involved in this now, what else can I do?” he asked.

    In his own story, Isaac Ogezi told the story of Ken Saro-wiwa who led the Ogoni people at a point. He uses metaphors, allegory and paradigm of historical facts to dissect the theme. A part of it read out to the audience indeed evoked sad memories of the past and how Shell Petroleum continuously despoils the land and renders the environment uninhabitable. “Thus, Under The Darkling Sky has the story of a people steeped in the bowel and throes of subjugation, malady and social injustice. How do they then extricate themselves from it is a matter that the play has handled in a way to let the audience decide,” Ogezi said.

    A deep play that spared nothing to indict the powers that be on what they have been unable to do to remedy the situation, Ogezi thinks it imperative to apportion blame where necessary.   And where it became urgent, he rendered the ideas to help push ahead. The role of the people would soon be considered treasonable and soon enough the bubble burst and Ken was hounded…

    In A Plague of Gadflies by Edema, he told the story of the wall gecko that no longer sleeps. Then what is the irony here, what is the central theme of the story? It is metaphorical and shows to what extent wall geckos have been used as agents of follies and harbingers of ill-luck. “Yes, we are now being hunted by the very people who are supposed to be our close pals. The wall gecko is an allegory of sorts. It is man who develops others into slavery and how do we overcome this state of slavery both of mind and the body? Our children are dehumanised daily, our daughters are no longer safe, our families have been taken over by force by those who are supposed to be our protectors. Too many issues that do not benefit anybody have been perpetuated and we are in a quandary,” he professed.

    Spiced with both poetry and drama performances, the event which took place at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, offered artists of diverse genres the opportunity to hubnob and strategise on the ways to prosper the sector. Toyin Akinoso, the chairman of CORA insisted that NLNG has done its level best to institute the award and therefore “we have to do our best to take it further. We have to make books available and known to the public: Book readings and reviews must continue to be made possible by CORA so that literature can become part of us.”

    Present at the occasion which took place last Sunday were Professor Biodun Jeyifo, Taiwo Ajai Lycett, Tunji Sotimirin, Mahmod Ali-Balogun, Nobert Young. Others were Lanre Arogundade, Jahman Anikulapo, Anne-Marie Ikuku, Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, Ndidi Dike, Olayinka Oyegbile and many others.

    In the end, Kudo Eresia of NLNG told the gathering of how the zeal to institute the prize began. Yet, he said, “We will continue to do it to entrench excellence in our literary firmament. We will continue to encourage and discover more stars in the literary circle so that we’ll discover more Achebes and Soyinkas in our midst.

    The ceremony came to an end with a buffet and plenty of music.

  • NLNG… A growth stunted by indecision

    NLNG… A growth stunted by indecision

    The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited used to be the third largest supplier of LNG. It has since dropped to fourth position and  the possibility of dropping further is imminent. No thanks to other LNG projects  and the  indecision  of the Federal Government on its expansion plans,  writes OLUKOREDE YISHAU

    It was incorporated 25 years ago. Its first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) did not leave the Bonny Port until ten years later. And once it took off, it appeared there was no stopping it. It rose so fast that it became the fourth largest supplier of LNG. That is part of the story of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, whose six-train plant produces about 22 Metric Tonnes Per Annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export and 5 MTPA of natural gas liquids (NGLS).

    No thanks to indecision on expansion plans, it has been overtaken by other producers. It has lost its position as the third largest supplier of LNG. It now occupies the fourth position.  There are imminent fears it will still dip further if its expansion plans are not concretised soon.

    As at the time it celebrated the export of its 3000th cargo on January 6, a large expanse of land close to its Train Six in Finima, Bonny Island was waiting for further action to house the Seventh Train of the plant. But years after work began on sand-filling of the site, there is no definite decision on when real construction work will begin.

    The NLNG, once the fastest growing facility in the world, has lost grounds to Qatar and Australia. Qatar has moved its output from 20 million metric tonnes to 80 million metric tonnes. Australia, from its previous 20 metric tonnes, now churns out 81 metric tonnes annually. NLNG is stuck at 22 million metric tonnes. Australia has 10 LNG projects, with 20 trains and $215 billion worth of final investment decision. Yet, Australia has only 60 percent of Nigeria’s gas reserves. Nigeria has gas reserves estimated at over 160 trillion cubic feet.

    The U.S., formerly a major LNG export destination, plans to become a net LNG exporter by 2016, with 1.1 billion cubic feet per day, projected to rise to 2.2 billion cubic feet per day in 2019.

    China, with an estimated gas reserve of 1,275 trillion cubic metres, is also planning big for the LNG market. Mozambique too is set for a fair share of the market, with plans to build a two-train facility at advanced stage.

    NLNG Train Seven project will raise the liquefaction capacity of the Plant to 30mtpa, consolidating Nigeria’s position as one of the largest producers and exporters of LNG.

    What really is the problem? Some have wondered if the company, which contributes 4 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), does not have the financial wherewithal to see the project through. But checks have revealed that the company’s challenge with expansion has nothing to do with money.  Industry sources say for this Train Seven to become a reality a Final Investment Decision (FID) has to be taken. The only person who can take this decision is President Goodluck Jonathan, through the Minister of Petroleum, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke. The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) whose board is chaired by Mrs. Madueke, controls 49 per cent of the company. The remaining 51 per cent is owned by Shell (25.6 per cent), Total (15 per cent) and Eni (10.4 per cent).

    At its board meeting last month, it was agreed that pre-FID work should continue on the site, which has gulped about $300 million, with the hope that the final decision will come soon.  But if the words of Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi are anything to go by, the FID may not be taken anytime soon. Amaechi once quoted Jonathan as telling him that NLNG’s expansion has to wait until the Brass LNG in Bayelsa State takes off. There are no clear signs that the Brass LNG is set to take off.

    The indecision on the FID is baffling given the fact that even top cabinet members have spoken about the need for the NLNG to surmount global challenges with countries, such as United States and others in East Africa, growing their LNG industry aggressively.

    Last November, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, visited the company’s Finima plant. She could not hide her excitement at these facts: it has made $25 billion from a $2.6 billion investment, has  six-train plant worth over $15 billion, owns 24 ships and six ships are underway from Samsung and Hyundai dockyards; and so on.

    Dr Okonjo-Iweala said: “I came after looking at your books and saw that you have been commercially viable and successful. The Nigeria LNG is an asset to the country.”

    The minister, however, said the company must rise above the looming global LNG industry storm, which may see NLNG lose its market share if it does not expand.  She said the company should consolidate its feed gas supply and ensure it secures long-term offshore contracts for its proposed Train Seven, adding that with the United States of America joining the league of oil and gas exporters, it was imperative for the NLNG to explore other major importers.

    Like Dr. Oknojo-Iweala, former Heads of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon and Chief Ernest Shonekan had earlier spoken about the need for the NLNG to expand. Both spoke during visits to its plant.

    Shonekan said: “Nigeria no longer has the luxury of deferring major decisions or of picking and choosing developmental projects to do and in what order. The LNG market is tightening. Other nations are not staying idle…

    “That Nigeria is still flaring gas is an unacceptable fact in today’s world, not only from a health and environmental perspective, but also for the basic fact that the perpetrators are burning cash. Again, as a former captain of industry and a statesman, I find it detestable that our country not only still leaves value on the table and walks away, year after year, but also continues to literally pour money into flames by flaring gas!

    “These are some reasons that you must get on with Train Seven immediately… The NLNG has a very strong balance sheet and therefore does not need money from the federal purse to expand. It only needs government approval and support of its shareholders to build train seven.

    “I am not entirely sure about what is delaying train seven. I gather that sales and purchase agreements for it were signed five years ago with buyers. Whatever might be delaying train seven, I call on the government to step in and ensure that the construction of that train takes off immediately. The time for it is now!

    “This is why I call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to immediately order the acceleration of these gas projects in the interest of this country. Train Seven is a low hanging fruit. I urge the government to immediately pursue that.

    “From the stand point of investment: it will cost Nigeria nothing; it will be built with third party loans. Nigeria LNG Limited has solid credit ratings and can raise funds with relative ease.”

    To Gen. Gowon, the NLNG growth should be more than what it is. He said: “I am still not completely fulfilled that we haven’t reached our destination in that journey we started so long ago. I am worried that history is about to repeat itself as other players (including the United States, a previous importer now a net exporter) will get to the global market ahead of us and it may be another 30-50 years lost. I will not like to see another great opportunity lost due to our lethargy. We can’t afford to sit on the fence any longer.”

    NLNG Managing Director Babs Omotowa believes expansion is the only answer to America’s shale gas development and other emerging natural gas producing countries, which are serious threats to NLNG’s current success status.

    Instructively, six years ago, the NLNG signed sales and purchase agreement for its seventh train. Observers are of the view that building the seventh train of the NLNG plant will bring in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) estimated at over $8 billion and help reduce flared gas, and improve the country’s revenue profile. With Train 7, the NLNG, said industry watchers, would provide about 10,000 jobs. Since it opened shop in Bonny, NLNG Limited has provided over 2,000 jobs each construction year and 18,000 jobs at the peak of construction.

    The government, they said, will also reap an additional $2.2 billion annually in dividend. It has so far received over $9 billion as dividends from the company.

     

    Other worries

     

    Speaking on the challenges facing the company at a retreat of the Corporate Planning Department,  NLNG’s Head of the Department, Charles Orji, said: “We have come to the end of our tax holiday, which means we will pay tax to the Federal Government and that definitely is going to affect the bottom line in terms of dividends paid to shareholders. There are challenges facing us as an organisation. Competition is building up. The dynamics in the market keeps changing. Some years back, we never knew there will be anything like shale gas. Shale gas is real now. America has given out four licences. And those licences are for production and export. There is competition expected from Australia. Down here in Africa, there is also competition from Angola. They have actually done their first shipment and Mozambique has also signed an agreement with the Japanese for an LNG Plant and a whole lot of the coast of East Africa is saturated with gas. So, we have to face these challenges as a company and we have to reposition.

    “If shale gas is a game changer, gas hydrates, God forbid, will be the end of the game because you have deposits all over the world, just as we have deposits of shale gas across the continental shelf. So, the threats against our business coming from these unconventionals are becoming real.

    “We also have issues to tackle internally within the company and some of these issues include those of aging plants. Our plants as you all know are aging and there is need to rejuvenation. We have no choice than to refurbish and revamp our plants. There is also the issue of gas supply. We are having challenges at the moment. The number of cargoes we projected for 2013 we had to revise our outlook going down from 325 cargoes projected for this year, first to 305 cargoes and now to 280 cargoes. So, gas supply continues to be a major issue for the company and part of the problem is that the country is not funding the Joint Venture Partners gas gathering projects. Added to the gas supply issue is the need for us to expand. We have proposed Train Seven, which would have increased our capacity from the 22, 000 metric tonnes we are currently producing. Trains Seven is also having issues and one of the major issues is gas supply.

    “In a few years time, we will need to renegotiate our SPAs and gas supply will also be an issue. Externally, there is the challenge we face from the regulatory authorities, the interpretation of the Nigeria LNG Act, which we will continue to depend on as a company.”

    The United States, followed by Canada, leads the world in producing natural gas from shale formations. Shale gas is said to account for 39 per cent of all natural gas produced last year in the United States, where four licences have been issued for large scale production. Data from the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Department of Energy, shows that shale gas production will continue to rise. Already, shale gas has cut into the share of U.S. electricity provided by coal-fired power plants. It has fallen from 53 per cent in 1993 to 42 per cent in 2011. EIA said U.S. shale gas production will increase 44 per cent between 2011 and 2040.

    Gas hydrates, according to the EIA, could be a potential source of natural gas. It said one cubic foot of gas hydrate releases 164 cubic feet of natural gas when brought back to the earth.

    EIA said: “According to the United States Geological Survey, the world’s gas hydrates may contain more organic carbon than the world’s coal, oil, and other forms of natural gas combined. Estimates of the naturally occurring gas hydrate resource vary from 10,000 trillion cubic feet to more than 100,000 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Tapping such resources would require significant additional research and technological improvements. The U.S. Department of Energy recently selected 14 gas hydrate research projects to receive funding, building on a successful test in early 2012 in which a steady flow of natural gas was extracted from gas hydrates on Alaska’s North Slope. Japan is also conducting research on producing gas hydrates from deepwater basins near its shores.”

     

  • ‘NLNG eight global supplier’

    ‘NLNG eight global supplier’

    The Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) is ranked the eight largest supplier of liquified natural gas in the world, its General Manager,  Production,  Chima Isilebo has said.

    He spoke while giving an overview of the plant’s production performance as well as challenges it is facing in the global LNG market when the Group Managing Director (GMD),  Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu and other senior members of his team visited visited the firm’s  six-train plant complex on Bonny Island, Rivers State.

    He said: “ In line with the Federal Government’s vision of generating as much revenue from gas as from oil,  NLNG starting out with a Base Project of only two trains with a capacity for about six metric tons of LNG per annum, now produces 22million metric tons of LNG with progressive plans for a seventh train, expected to raise production to about 30million tonnes.

    NLNG has successfully pioneered gas monetisation and is currently the 8th largest supplier of LNG in the world, making it a large-scale LNG plant by world standards.

    Yakubu was received by   the Deputy Managing Director, NLNG, Isa Mohammed Inuwa, and other members of the company’s senior management team.

    Inuwa said the GMD’s visit to NLNG, the first by a sitting NNPC GMD, was “a privilege and demonstration of his rare commitment to the success and development by a key stakeholder.”

  • Kabelmetal exports cables to South Korea for NLNG

    Kabelmetal exports cables to South Korea for NLNG

    Nexans Kabelmetal Nigeria Plc is exporting electric cables worth N176 million to South Korea for use in the construction of six new vessels procured by Bonny Gas Transport (BGT), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG).

    NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations, Kudo Eresia-Eke,  in a statement, said the delivery is in six batches each for each ship, adding that the six vessels worth $1.6 billion are being constructed by two ship builders, Samsung Heavy Industries and Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea.

    He explained that as part of an agreement signed with the ship builders by BGT, five per cent of total contract value will be spent procuring suitable Nigerian goods, services and labour, in fulfilment of the Nigerian Content Development plan for the project.

    The Managing Director, Nexans Kabelmetal, Robert Kretschmer, said the development marks  a significant milestone in the history of the nation.

    He said: “It is significant that a company based in Nigeria is exporting finished industrial goods to a technologically advanced country like South Korea. It places a premium on what we do as a company, despite the challenging business environment in Nigeria.

    “I must say that Nexans Kabelmetal has a long standing relationship with NLNG, and for us, this is the beginning of a new level in this relationship. We look forward to this generating other business leads from South-Korea and other countries.”

    Kretschmer said NLNG’s  relationship with Nexans Kabelmetal, dates back to the construction of NLNG’s third train in 2003 when the cable giant was contracted to supply cables for that phase of the NLNG project. Nexans Kabelmetal has since then fully expanded its product range to produce a type of shipboard cable, approved by Bureau Veritas and Lloyds Register with Marine Certification, he added.

    NLNG’s General Manager, Shipping, Capt. Temi Okesanjo, said the gas firm is committed to developing the country.

    “NLNG is committed to its vision of helping to build a better Nigeria, and supports as a policy, a deliberate development and use of Nigerian human and material resources in all its activities. We collaborated with Nexans Kabelmetal and other local companies to upgrade their facilities at various stages during the construction of the NLNG trains.

    Today, with Nexans Kabelmetal exporting cables to South-Korea, they have gone global. NLNG is very proud to be able to help local companies and organisations compete internationally,” he said.

    Eresia-Eke said the six new vessels under construction by Hyundai and Samsung, each with a capacity of 170,000m3, will replace old BGT Ships. BGT owns 13 of the 23 vessels in Nigeria LNG’s fleet – by far the largest in Nigeria – which deliver liquefied natural gas to customers spread across the world. The company was established in 1989 to provide shipping capacity for NLNG.

    Nigeria LNG Limited is the most significant arrow-head in the federal government’s quest to eliminate gas flaring and derive value from the country’s 187 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves.

    NLNG is owned by four shareholders, namely, the Federal Government of Nigeria, represented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC (49 per cent),  Shell Gas BV, SGBV, (25.6 per cent), Total LNG Nigeria Limited (15 per cent), and Eni International (N.A,) N. V. S. a. r. l (10.4 per cent).

  • NLNG finds bigger market in Japan

    NLNG finds bigger market in Japan

    •‘U.S.’ exit won’t affect our business’

    The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited has found a bigger market in Japan, after the United States (US) stopped patronising it. The US stopped buying gas from Nigeria following its discovery and production of shale gas.

    NLNG Managing Director Babs Omotowa said in Lagos during the company’s presentation of its 2014 facts and figures that the US accounted for 35 per cent of its market. But that doesn’t exist because of shale oil, he said, adding that NLNG has found even a bigger market in the Far East. “Japan is our largest market now,” he said.

    He explained that the loss of the US market would not affect NLNG’s operations and sales because the supply contracts are long term, which will last for over 20 years. NLNG, he said, is also exploring other markets depending on availability of gas.

    The NLNG chief said the  Train 7 project is on course, explaining that the delay in the construction of the train is caused by gas supply. According to him, the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and funding are some of the challenges affecting the gas suppliers of the project. He however noted that the pre-final investment decision (FID) processes are being concluded.

    He noted that the NLNG accounts for seven per cent of global LNG supplies and expects to increase to 10 per cent when Train seven comes on stream.

    The company is rated the fastest growing LNG project in the world and operates six trains which produce 22 million metric tons of LNG yearly, adding that this will grow to 30 million metric tons with Train 7 in operation.

    Omotowa said NLNG contributes four per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), adding that this may change if the rebased-GDP is considered.

    On other contributions to the economy, he said: “Since inception, we have shipped 3000 LNG cargoes to customers globally, which is over four trillion cubic feet of associated gas that ordinarily would have been flared. With this, we have reduced gas flaring by upstream companies from over 60 per cent to 11 per cent.

    “The company pays corporate income tax of over N200 billion per annum, Rivers State Government earns over N6 billion per annum from personal income taxes, and Bonny Local Government earns over N88 million yearly as tenement rate, among others.

    Omotowa said Nigeria LNG has paid over $27billion dividend to the shareholders of the company since inception, adding that Nigerians have earned $50 billion from the company since inception.

  • NDDC levy not applicable to NLNG

    NDDC levy not applicable to NLNG

    THE Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited(NLNG) has said it is not affected by the three percent Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) levy.

    The company was reacting to a demonstration by the Niger Delta Youth Stakeholders Forum over the company’s alleged refusal to pay the levy.

    The NLNG statement reads: “For the avoidance of doubt, this levy is inapplicable to NLNG, a position which has the backing of decisions of the entire spectrum of courts in Nigeria, culminating in a Supreme Court ruling delivered inOctober 2011.

    “Following an initial suit filed by the NDDC, the Federal High Court on July 11, 2007 delivered judgement stating that NLNG was not liable to pay the NDDC levy.

    “NDDC then proceeded to challenge the High Court ruling at the Court of Appeal. The Appellate Court also ruled in NLNG’s favour. NDDC appealed further to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court subsequently dismissed NDDC’s appeal.The basis of the judicial determination of these courts in favour of  NLNG is that the Company is not subject to the NDDC levy, taking into account the correct interpretation of the provisions of the NDDC Act 2000.

    “It is instructive to note that when the representatives of the demonstrators were invited into a meeting with NLNG Management and presented with this fact, they claimed to be unaware of it. They then immediately undertook to go back and inform the crowd of demonstrators numbering about 40.  The protesters dispersed shortly afterwards. “

     

     

    “As has been the case since inception, NLNG continues to champion compliance and meet all its applicable tax obligations including Education Tax, Value Added Tax, Personal Income Tax, Withholding Tax, Tenement Rates etc, as accruable to Federal, State and Local Governments.”

     

  • NLNG restates exemption from NDDC levy

    NLNG restates exemption from NDDC levy

    The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) has reiterated its exemption from payment of the three per cent Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) levy by the NLNG Act of 2004. It was further backed by a 2011 Supreme Court ruling.

    The NLNG was reacting to a report about a demonstration by youths purported to be affiliated to a body that called itself the Niger Delta Youth Stakeholders Forum, over the company’s alleged refusal to pay the three percent NDDC levy.

    Its  General Manager, External Relations, Kudo Eresia-Eke, said: “Nigeria LNG Limited’s attention has been drawn to recent news report about a demonstration by youths purported to be affiliated to a body calling itself Niger Delta Youth Stakeholders Forum, over the company’s alleged refusal to pay a three percent Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) levy.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, NLNG was granted exemption from payment of this levy by the NLNG Act of 2004, a position which has the backing of a Supreme Court ruling delivered as early as 2011. Following an initial suit filed by the NDDC, the Federal High Court on July 11, 2007 delivered judgement stating that NLNG was not liable to pay the NDDC levy.

    “NDDC then proceeded to challenge the High Court ruling at the Court of Appeal. The Appellate Court also ruled in NLNG’s favour. NDDC appealed further to the Supreme Court in October 2011. The Supreme Court subsequently dismissed NDDC’s appeal, ruling that NLNG is legally exempted from paying the NDDC levy in accordance with the provisions of the NLNG Act.

    It is instructive to note that when the representatives of the demonstrators were invited into a meeting with NLNG management and presented with this fact, they claimed to be unaware of it. They then immediately undertook to go back and inform the crowd of demonstrators numbering about 40.  The protesters dispersed shortly afterwards.

  • NLNG gets 124 entries for 2014 literature prize

    NLNG gets 124 entries for 2014 literature prize

    The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited has received 124 entries for this year’s edition of The Nigeria Prize for Literature.

    The prize is the company’s flagship corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative and Africa’s most prestigious literary prize.

    Five entries were also received for the award for literary criticism, introduced in 2012.

    The entries were handed over through the Advisory Board for Literature to the panel of judges chaired by Charity Angya, a professor of Theatre and Drama at the Benue State University (BSU), Makurdi, Benue State.

    Other members of the panel are: Prof. Ahmed Yerima, a playwright and past winner of The Nigeria Prize for Literature, 2006 edition and Prof; Nasiru Akanji, a well respected scholar and professor of Performing Arts, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN).

    Also on the panel is Prof. Sirayi, a playwright and Dean, Faculty of the Arts, at Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa. He will serve as an international consultant.

    The Nigeria Prize for Literature is awarded yearly and alternates amongst four literary genres: prose fiction, poetry, drama and children’s literature. This year is for drama.

    For the award for literary criticism, which has not been awarded since it was introduced, special consideration will be given to critical essays on the works of the new generation of Nigerian writers. Entries for the award must have been published in a reputable international literary journal.

    The Nigeria Prize for Literature, now in its 11th year, is sponsored by Nigeria LNG Limited to reward excellence and celebrate works of outstanding merit in literature.

  • NLNG earns $80b in 15 years

    NLNG earns $80b in 15 years

    The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) has generated over $80 billion from its operation since inception in 1999, the Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr. Babs Omotowa, has said.

    Omotowa, who is also the Vice President, Bonny Gas Transport Limited, said the development of LNG through the construction of new LNG plants and expansion of the existing one, would not only add value to the economy, including job creation, but also generate more revenue for the Federal Government.

    He urged the government to fast-track the construction and completion of LNG projects in view of LNG emerging projects and the increasing development of gas from shale, which may competitive.

    To maximise benefits from its gas resource, the NLNG chief advised the government to expedite action on bringing into operation the Brass LNG, Olokola LNG and NLNG train 7, which has been waiting for final investment decision (FID) in the past few years.

    “As a result of shale gas LNG importers are self-sufficient, becoming exporters and in competition. For instance, United States and Canada have approved six LNG projects worth 25 per cent of global demand. Proven shale gas reserves are 7,299 trillion cubic feet,” he said.

    He noted that NLNG could create value in other sectors of the economy, especially in the power sector. He explained that in view of sabotage and pipeline vandalism resulting in inadequate gas supply for electricity generation, which is blamed for the power deficits, re-gasified liquefied natural gas (LNG) could be used as a bridge solution.

    He said using pipeline beyond 1,000km for gas supply to power stations, is not viable, considering the security situation, hence the need to explore the use of LNG, which can be conveyed to these stations by sea through barges and by road, re-gasified and piped into the plants.

    “Re-gasified LNG may be part of the solution in mid-term. It can also be used for industrial plants, thus reducing grid demand. Re-gasified LNG total cost to end-user may be 30 – 40 per cent cheaper than diesel even at $17 per million British thermal unit (mmbtu),” he added.

    He also spoke of the need for partnership in the industry, adding that inclusion of fiscals and administration in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) as well as competitive contract approval period, would power LNG projects.

    to attract foreign direct investments (FDIs) in partnership with locals to further unlock potentials in the sector.

    He said the Nigeria LNG accounts for four per cent of Nigeria’s GDP, generated $80billion revenue since 1999, has $13billion asset base, has 100 per cent Nigerian management team, has 97 per cent asset reliability, and is the world’s fourth largest LNG plant with 3000 LNG cargo delivered.